News / USMX and ILA in 'claims blame game' as strike deadline looms

Harold Daggett

As the deadline for a new contract between the US east and Gulf coast members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and employer body the USMX draws agonisingly closer, the blame game is already well under way.

Yesterday saw another exchange of public announcements, with each side claiming the other refuses to negotiate.

“Despite additional attempts by USMX to engage with the ILA and resume bargaining, we have been unable to schedule a meeting to continue negotiations on a new master contract,” said the USMX.

“We remain prepared to bargain at any time, but both sides must come to the table if we are going to reach a deal, and there is no indication that the ILA is interested in negotiating at this time,” it added.

It said it had been communication with both the US Department of Labor and Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS) to keep them updated on the negotiations.

In response, the ILA accused the USMX of running a “misleading publicity campaign” and inflating dockworker wage increase demands.

In recent days, various reports have suggested the ILA is demanding up to a 77% wage increase in the new contract. US transport secretary Pete Buttigieg was asked about the scale of wage increases in a recent CNBC interview.

“We have had different numbers out there, but this will have to be worked out at the negotiating table,” he said, although this came with what appeared to be a promise that the White House would help work out a deal.

“We are going to engage with everybody to make sure there is a good outcome to this,” Mr Buttigieg said.

However, ILA president Harold Daggett rejected the wage figure. he said: “Deceiving the public with misleading calculations is not going to help get an agreement with the ILA.

“Even a $5 an hour increase in wages for each year of a six-year agreement only amounts to an average annual increase of approximately 9.98%.

“USMX knows what our bottom line with wages needs to be for our ILA rank-and-file to ratify a new master contract agreement,” he continued.

“They [USMX] call me several times each week trying to get the ILA to accept a low-ball wage package. My ILA members are not going to accept these insulting offers that are a joke, considering the work my ILA longshore workers perform and the billion dollar profits the companies make off the backs of their labour.

“The blame for a coast-wide strike in a week that will shut down all ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts falls squarely on the shoulders of USMX,” he added.

Meanwhile, US shipper associations continue to plead for government intervention to prevent a strike.

In a letter addressed to President Joe Biden yesterday, Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the American Association of Footwear and Apparel (AAFA), wrote: “We have anxiously waited for over three months for negotiations to restart, and they haven’t. Now that we are one week away from a major disruption, the situation is dire, and we need your help now.”

Noting carrier predictions that each day of a strike would create a backlog that would take five days to clear, Mr Lamar said it would create chaos across North America’s container supply chains that would last far longer than the strike itself.

“The east and Gulf coast ports will lose business long term, as importers switch to the west coast ports,” he said, adding that these  “will face severe disruptions as limited capacity to absorb these products will create significant strains and delays at ports on rail, and on trucks”.

The letter says: “Our members, if they can get their product to market at all during the critical holiday shopping season, will only be able to do so with massive delays and at exorbitant cost.

“Exporters, particularly agricultural exporters, will literally see their product rot on the docks or in the rail yards.

“And, just when inflation has started to come under control, American families will face a surge in prices and product shortages not seen since the pandemic.”