Negotiations between the International Longshore Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) have been on pause since the ILA called off talks on June 10th when they claimed Maersk had violated the master agreement’s technology provision at their Port of Mobile terminal by implementing an autonomous gate process.
In a statement issued by the ILA, “When negotiations resume, the union expects to demand salaries and other benefits for ILA members that are as lucrative as the profits of the USMX member companies. The threat of a coastwide strike on October 1, 2024 is becoming more likely.”
Initially, there was hope the local agreements would be reached by summer, and the two sides would hash out the master agreement before the September 30th contract expiration. However, the Mobile auto-gate complaint leaves that port’s local agreement unsettled and master agreement by the deadline a question mark.