USMX, ILA negotiators facing Jan. 15 deadline
Negotiations for a new labor contract affecting workers at 36 East and Gulf Coast ports are set to resume next week between employers and the longshore union.
Representatives from the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) will gather in northern New Jersey, where both organizations have their offices, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Mediators will not be present at these talks, and a media blackout has been declared by both parties during the negotiations.
In October, Biden administration officials intervened to end a three-day strike by the ILA, resulting in an agreement to extend the existing contract until January 15 while negotiations continued. The strike had disrupted container handling operations and posed a risk of bottlenecks for billions of dollars in imports, including pharmaceuticals, fresh produce, apparel, and auto parts.
During the extension, USMX and ILA reached an agreement on a 62% pay increase over six years for 45,000 union workers. However, automation remains a significant point of contention, with the union strongly opposing the implementation of new port technologies that could potentially eliminate longshore jobs.
One option on the table is to further extend the current contract while negotiations are ongoing. The January 15 deadline comes just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Importers have been expediting shipments in anticipation of a possible second strike and the tariffs Trump plans to impose on goods from China. It remains uncertain whether ILA leadership would initiate another work stoppage.
ILA President Harold Daggett has previously met with Trump, raising questions about whether the new administration might invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to mandate the return of striking longshore workers to their jobs, which the Biden administration chose not to do.
