Impending strike threatens East Coast seaports as contract talks stall

A looming strike action threatens to disrupt the operations of major U.S. seaports on the
East Coast as the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and U.S. Maritime
Alliance (USMX) have yet to settle on the master contract set to expire on September
30.

ILA president and chief negotiator Harold Daggett said locals at vital trade hubs like
New York/New Jersey and Houston are prepared to “hit the streets” on October 1 if the
union’s contract demands are not met.

On June 10, ILA halted its master contract negotiations with USMX after union
members discovered the autonomous processing of trucks by APM Terminals and
Maersk’s “auto gate system”, which violates the current master contract, according to
Daggett.

The union said the automated system was initially identified at Port Mobile, Alabama,
and believes that it is also in use in other ports.

Despite the rarity of seaport labor strikes in the United States, logistics companies and
shippers show concern during negotiations as slowdown or stoppage affects billions of
dollars’ worth of food, medicine, furniture, and factory equipment products.

As the fate of the master contract hangs in the balance, the hope of avoiding a strike
came at the end of June when ILA announced it had reached an agreement with South
Carolina Ports, a USMX member, in Charleston.