News / USEC port workers' union set to finalise contract demands and strike strategy

Harold Daggett

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) will next month amend its final contract demands and prepare its US East and Gulf coast port worker members for an early-October strike. 

The union said it “expects to put in marathon hours” presenting the contract demands to delegates during wage scale committee meetings on 4 and 5 September, in New Jersey. 

The delegates will review the demands the ILA will present to employer group, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). 

But ILA president and chief negotiator Harold Daggett said the gathering would also enable the union to prepare for a potential coast-wide strike on 1 October 1, if a new agreement is not reached. 

“The union plans to devote time to instruct locals on strike strategies and what to expect if the ILA is on strike at the beginning of October.” 

Mr Daggett added: “With less than 30 days to go before the end of our current master contract, we must prepare our locals and ILA membership for a strike on 1 October.”

He noted that two generations of ILA members had entered the industry since the last ILA strike, more than four and a half decades ago, in 1977. And he said: “My membership is 100% behind the ILA leadership team, and they know we want to deliver the best contract for them. 

“They are ready to ‘hit the streets’ if our demands are not met,” he concluded.  

Last week, the ILA notified the USMX that the current agreement between them was expiring on 30 September and would not be extended. The 60-day notice is required under Section 8 of the US Labor-Management Act of 1947. 

However, contract negotiations are yet to begin, due to a disagreement about port automation at Mobile, Alabama.  

But one large US shipper has told The Loadstar: “I’m not expecting a strike to start.  

“The timing, coinciding with the [US presidential] election, probably means it should be resolved. I’d expect the ports to be pushed to compromise.” 

But the shipper did warn that if agreement was not reached, the “impacts on the US economy would be pretty significant, and quickly felt”.