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Potential ILA Strike in October 2024 at US East & Gulf Ports
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), representing its US East and Gulf Coast port workers, informed the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) that the current agreement between them was expiring on September 30th, 2024, and would not be extended.
The ILA will present the final contract demands it will submit to the employer group (the USMX) to its delegates at a wage scale meeting on September 4th and 5th, 2024. The meeting will also enable the union to prepare locals for a potential ILA strike on October 1st, 2024.
In a statement on Saturday, August 3rd, 2024, the ILA President and Chief Negotiator, Harold Dagget, said, “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 Oct. 1, 2024” and stated “My membership is 100% behind the ILA leadership team, and they know we want to deliver the best contract for them. They are ready to ‘hit the streets’ if our demands are not met.”
Contract negotiations have yet to begin due to a disagreement about port automation at Mobile, Alabama. The ILA is demanding wage gains to make up for inflation and a share of the extraordinary profits won by ocean liners during the pandemic. The union is asking for more than the 32% increase won by West Coast counterparts last summer, and the two sides remain far apart on the scale of wage increases according to a source familiar with the talks.
Sources
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