Second US port strike averted as union, employers reach deal

Bengaluru – The union representing 45,000 dock workers on the US East and Gulf coasts and their employer groups said on Jan 8 they have reached a tentative deal on a new six-year contract, averting a strike that could have snarled supply chains and taken a toll on the US economy.

It would have been the second strike in just four months by US dock workers. The deal includes a resolution in automation, which had been the thorniest issue of on the table.

The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), in a joint statement, called the agreement a “win-win”.

“This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernising East and Gulf coast ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong,” the groups said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The two sides extended talks until Jan 15 to hammer a deal on automation.

Shipping industry executives were concerned that the parties would not be able to overcome their impasse, leading to a second ILA strike just days before US President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan 20 inauguration.

A three-day ILA strike in October triggered a surge in shipping prices and cargo backlogs at the 36 affected ports.

Longshoremen returned to work after employers agreed to a 62 per cent wage increase over the next six years.

Employers at the ports stretching from Maine to Texas include terminal operators like APM, owned by Danish container carrier Maersk, as well as the US arms of other major carriers like China’s Cosco Shipping and Switzerland’s MSC.

The National Retail Federation, which represents major customers like Walmart and Target, said the agreement should bring certainty back to ocean shipping by reducing the risk of disruptions at East and Gulf coast ports that handle more than half of US container imports. REUTERS

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