The rhetoric coming from the International Longshore Association (ILA) leadership is heating up the closer we get to 2024.
The current contract governing 45,000 longshore workers on the US East and Gulf Coasts is set to expire on September 30, 2024. ILA leadership has publicly stated if the contract is not signed before the expiration date, they will walk off the job. Harold Daggett, ILA President, warned his members to start saving money and said, “The ILA has not had a coastwide strike since 1977, but we must be prepared if our demands are not met.”
The demands center around wages, jurisdiction and automation. Familiar points of contention. But, until the wage increase portion of the negotiations is settled, the union will not discuss other aspects of the contract.
Thus far, the wage negotiations between the ILA and the management group, United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) are not going well with the union walking out of the last meeting in October.