The East Coast's main longshoremen's union reportedly plans to resume talks with port managers next week, with some industry executives saying job automation remains a key sticking point. As a result, there are warnings that another strike may occur.
Leaders of the International Longshoremen's Association plan to resume contract negotiations Tuesday ahead of a Jan. 15 deadline, people familiar with the negotiations told the Post.
Bloomberg first reported the news.
Importers and exporters are hoping to avoid a prolonged and destructive strike that would wreak havoc at major ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast.
The port handles about half of the nation's container volume, according to data from the American Association of Port Authorities.
Longshoremen appear to be putting up adamant resistance to port automation, with a 62% pay rise over the next six years following a short strike in October, but forcing employers to ban automation. asking for it is a completely different matter.
Most shippers believe a strike is inevitable, logistics company executives told the Post.
“It's going to happen,” the executive said. “Most people believe there will be a strike.”
Shipping companies are sending additional goods to the U.S. for companies to stockpile in case of a possible strike.
Supply chain and logistics provider Allport Cargo Services USA warned in a December newsletter that importers and exporters should brace for a strike to begin on January 15 unless the government intervenes.
The strike would cost between $5 billion and $10 billion per day, according to the newsletter.
“We have inventory, so there will be no impact in the short term,” the executive told the Post. “If this goes on for two or three weeks, you’re going to start seeing empty shelves…that’s going to be a big problem.”
If longshoremen walk off the job again, container ships in New York and New Jersey will be left stranded, and their containers will become stranded because they will not be able to send them back to China for more products. It will be.
The executive said there has already been a significant increase in goods being shipped to the West Coast in preparation for the strike.
A three-day ILA strike in October led to a tentative agreement on wage increases between the shipping line and the terminal operator, but the automation issue remained unresolved.
The ILA and the U.S. Maritime Alliance called off contract negotiations after just two days of meetings in November after the alliance refused to change its anti-automation stance.
The union said the employer “continues to push automation and semi-automation language in the draft master contract that excludes ILA employment.”
ILA Chairman Harold Daggett said he would not accept a contract that would allow for any kind of automation.
This also includes semi-automatic cranes, which are allowed in workers' current contracts and are already in use at some port terminals.
“Unfortunately, the ILA is insisting on an agreement that will set our industry back by restricting the future use of technology that has existed in some ports for nearly 20 years, and will disrupt the nation's future supply chain.” USMX said after talks broke down in November.
President-elect Donald Trump has supported the longshoremen in contract negotiations.
On Dec. 12, he met with Mr. Daggett and Mr. Daggett's son Dennis, who is the union's executive vice president.
“I study automation, and I know just about everything there is to know about automation,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social later that day. “The money saved pales in comparison to the pain, injury, and harm it causes to American workers, in this case longshore workers.”
