The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) alerted all locals covered by the Master Contract with United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) that Wage Scale Committee Meetings will be held beginning Sept. 4 to review demands the ILA makes to USMX and to prepare for a potential coast-wide strike Oct. 1 if a new agreement is not reached by then.
“We are meeting to discuss our ILA demands with our ILA Wage Scale Committee delegates for the next contract we sign with USMX,” says Harold J. Daggett, ILA leader. “But 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. Two generations of ILA members have come into the industry since our last strike in 1977 – more than four and a half decades ago.”
Key takeaways:
- The union plans to devote time to instruct locals on strike strategies and what to expect if the ILA is on strike beginning of October.
- The ILA canceled Master Contract talks with USMX after discovering that APM Terminals and Maersk Line were utilizing an Auto Gate system, which autonomously processes trucks without ILA labor. This system, initially identified at the Port of Mobile, Ala., is reportedly being used in other ports as well. The ILA would not meet with USMX until the Auto Gate issue is resolved.
- This isn’t the first time ILA has prepped for strike. In 2016, more than 1,000 longshoremen participated in a walkout over contract negotiations.
“My membership is 100% behind the ILA leadership team, and they know we want to deliver the best contract for them,” says Daggett. “If that means we have to go out on strike Oct. 1, they are ready to ‘hit the streets’ if our demands are not met.”
