Posts tagged Gulf Coast Ports
Dockworkers Launch Strike at Ports From Maine to Texas
October 1, 2024 // Port employers, pressed by Biden administration officials to resolve the impasse, raised their offer on wages to a 50% increase over six years, from an earlier 40% increase, along with other improvements in benefits in the 24 hours before the strike deadline. The ILA is seeking a 77% wage increase over six years as a condition to sit down to talks with maritime employers, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The walkout shuts down some of the country’s main gateways for imports of food, vehicles, heavy machinery, construction materials, chemicals, furniture, clothes and toys.
Ports strike would leave Walmart, Ikea, Home Depot with few import options, union warns
September 29, 2024 // These companies are among the leading importers at the 14 major ports that an ILA strike would impact, according to ImportGenius. Overall, between 43%-49% of all U.S. imports and billions of dollars in trade monthly are at stake as the union moves closer to the Oct. 1 deadline for a new contract, over which talks between the union and ports management broke down in June and have not resumed. Cruise operations at ports would continue. “To stop trade entering the U.S. on such a large-scale, even for short period of time, is highly-damaging to the economy so government intervention will be needed to bring the matter to a resolution for the good of the nation,” warned Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at Xeneta. “A strike lasting just one week will impact schedules for ships leaving the Far East on voyages to the U.S. in late December and throughout January.”
Port employers seek NLRB injunction against longshore union
September 29, 2024 // “Due to the ILA’s repeated refusal to come to the table and bargain on a new Master Contract, USMX filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) with the National Labor Relations Board and requested immediate injunctive relief — requiring the union to resume bargaining — so that we can negotiate a deal,” USMX said in a release. Talks between employers and the ILA on a new six-year master contract covering 25,000 union employees in container and ro-ro services at three dozen East and Gulf Coast ports broke off in June over wages, benefits and the introduction of technology that would automate some dockside services.
Commentary: Labor strikes add to Harris union headache after Teamsters snub
September 23, 2024 // The announcement laid bare what could be a major liability for Harris ahead of the election. She is supported by most labor leaders, but rank-and-file members could deny her the presidency if they show up instead for Trump. But Harris also has a second emerging labor headache: Several unions are considering strikes, threatening to upend supply chains weeks out from the November election. Last Friday, more than 30,000 Boeing workers walked off the job, and dockworkers at ports along the Gulf and East coasts are threatening their own strike next month. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain similarly announced on Tuesday his organization will hold strike authorization votes against auto manufacturer Stellantis.
Largest port on U.S. East Coast, New York/New Jersey, begins prepping for what could be first union strike since 1977
September 20, 2024 // The ILA represents over 85,000 port workers, and a strike would shut down five of the 10 busiest ports in North America, and a total of 36 ports along the East and Gulf Coasts. Close to half (43%-49%) of all monthly U.S. imports would be impacted, representing billions of dollars in trade, and logistics firms are preparing contingency plans last used during Covid and 2018 tariffs. Currently, there is an estimated $34 billion in freight in route to these ports on 147 ocean vessels.
Report: Biden won’t block dock strike
September 18, 2024 // International Longshoremen’s Association has set Oct. 1 strike deadline at East and Gulf Coast ports. Taft-Hartley Act grants presidents powers to intervene in labor disputes that threaten national security or safety by imposing an 80-day cooling-off period, and forcing employees back to work while negotiations continue.
Half a century later, ILA returns to strike mode
September 13, 2024 // The ILA is one of the least aggressive unions when it comes to coastwide strikes, especially relative to its militant West Coast counterpart: the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which orchestrated stoppages and slowdowns just last year to attain its desired contract. In many respects, then, the ILA is riding the wave of labor’s recent successes that were achieved through hard-line tactics. In August 2023, the Teamsters celebrated the ratification of a new agreement with UPS. A few months later, the United Auto Workers secured large pay raises and other benefits for its members after a 46-day strike against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors.
Dockworkers along the East Coast are threatening to strike in October
August 14, 2024 // Full-time registered longshore workers on the West Coast, which had its own share of unrest last year, earned an average of nearly $200,000 a year in 2022, according to an estimate from the shippers — some of the best-paid industrial workers in the world. Their numbers have dwindled as the industry moves to automation. That's been a sticking point in negotiations, as we previously explained.
ILA Starts Preparations for East and Gulf Coast Port Strike on October 1
August 6, 2024 // Bloomberg in its report highlights that that a strike would impact six of the 10 busiest U.S. ports. Trade groups presenting retailers and manufacturers have already called for government involvement to oversee the negotiations while many commentators point out the strike would come just weeks before the U.S. presidential election. “With less than 30 days to go before the end of our current Master Contract when these meetings are held, we must prepare our locals and our ILA membership for a strike on October 1, 2024. Two generations of ILA members have come into the industry since our last strike in 1977,” said Harold J. Daggett, the president of the ILA. The union has repeatedly said it would seek to oppose any future efforts at port automation and cargo handling and would also seek to roll back its past allowances.
ILA: Threat of Strike at US East and Gulf Coast Ports “Growing More Likely”
July 17, 2024 // The ILA has a firm stance against increased port automation and singled out the auto gate system to highlight its position. They contend that APM introduced the system that makes it possible to process trucks without ILA labor. Further, they allege that they have observed “an increasing number of IT personnel on marine terminals,” with concern that APM Terminals is encroaching on the union’s jurisdiction. They also questioned if the system is being used in other ports. Economists and the made trade organizations for retailers and apparel manufacturing have all warned of the potential impact a strike could have on already fragile supply chains. There have been repeated calls for the Biden administration to step in to bring the two sides to the negotiating table and guide the process. The Department of Labor helped to resolve the 2023 issues with the West Coast ports which had spent a year negotiating their dockworkers contract.