Us East Dock strike latest news! January 7 or "final negotiations"
Regarding the pending strike action at the US East Terminal, the latest news has come: ILA and USMX will resume contract negotiations ahead of a possible port strike deadline.
According to sources, talks between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and port employers represented by the United States Maritime Union (USMX) are scheduled to resume on January 7, just over a week before the current contract extension expires on January 15.
A person with knowledge of the talks said the decision to resume was unexpected and had been agreed quickly, adding that the two sides had been in informal talks for some time.
"They (ILA and USMX) have been in touch informally, as they did in this case," another source said. He confirmed that "negotiations will resume and the deadline is approaching."
Just days ago, liner operators, including Hapag-Lloyd, announced that container surcharges would come into effect in the event of a strike; A few weeks ago, President-elect Trump met with Harold Daggett, president of the International Association of Shipping, and his son, executive Vice President Dennis Daggett, at his residence in Florida and expressed support for the union.
"We hope the two sides can actually reach an agreement. If not, they have to extend it again to avoid a strike!" Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, said in an article published on X.
There have been no formal negotiations since the ILA broke off talks in early November, with the association saying employers were trying to force automated container handling technology into new contracts to eliminate union jobs.
USMX responded that semi-automatic cranes are urgently needed at terminals to improve efficiency and make U.S. ports globally competitive. Employers say an increase in the number of containers actually helps create more union jobs.
Trade groups have been calling for both sides to return to talks for months, even as logistics service providers prepare for the worst after a fraught year that included Red Sea shipping attacks and President-elect Donald Trump's threatened tariffs that could realigned global supply chains.
In early October 2024, 45,000 ILA workers staged a three-day strike that shut down container loading and vehicle unloading activities at dozens of ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast. Biden administration officials helped broker an end to the strike, with both sides agreeing to a 16 percent pay raise over a new six-year main contract and an extension of the current one, while negotiations resumed.
No federal officials are involved in the current talks, the sources said.
ILA and USMX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Although the two sides have agreed to restart negotiations, it will not be easy to reach a consensus in a short time. Core issues such as wages and automation remain divisive, requiring in-depth discussions and a degree of compromise on both sides. If the talks fail to make substantial progress, or if the two sides cannot agree on key terms, a strike seems "inevitable" and would have a severe impact on the US economy, transportation and global supply chains.
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