News / US dockers' union says automated terminals are a barrier to smooth contract negotiations

Global Container Terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey

The leader of the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA), the labour union that represents the 65,000 dockworkers on the east and Gulf coasts of the US, says another sustained row between employers and employees may be on the way in advance of a new round of master contract negotiations.

In a letter to members yesterday, ILA president Harold Daggett says informal talks between union leaders and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents the container terminal operators and shipping lines that collectively sign ...