ILA strike negotiations failed and the Industrial Relations Board stepped in
The industry's closely watched labor negotiations between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Union (USMX) have seen an update.
On Nov. 13, the ILA released a statement saying that the two sides had begun four days of negotiations this week to reach "a fair contract."
USMX has previously said its focus is on modernization, not automation.
The ILA says it always supports modern technologies that improve safety, efficiency and freight volume, but only if "people are always in control." "For 13 years, our position has been clear: We welcome technology that improves jobs, but not at the expense of ILA members' jobs. Whether it is fully automatic or semi-automatic, it will displace jobs and undermine workers' rights."
It is reported that the conflict of the labor negotiations, focused on pay and benefits and terminal automation areas, due to the failure to reach an agreement on a new contract, ILA held a general strike on October 1, involving 36 ports in the eastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico, 50,000 longshoreworkers.
In the end, USMX gave in and reached a preliminary agreement on ILA members' salaries, which will increase by 61.5 percent over six years, while extending the main contract until January 15, 2025. However, on sensitive issues such as terminal automation, no resolution was reached at that time and negotiations would continue.
Peter Sand, principal analyst at industry analyst Xeneta, said at the time that the main obstacle to resolving the dispute was the terminal operator's desire to introduce automation, which would dramatically increase production efficiency but at the same time dramatically reduce the workforce, which was unacceptable to the union.
However, many people in the industry believe that the negotiation prospects of terminal automation issues are not promising, and the ILA announcement of the breakdown of negotiations also confirmed this. If the management does not make concessions on terminal automation, the ILA is highly likely to strike again in January 2025.
On Nov. 13, the ILA released a statement saying that the two sides had begun four days of negotiations this week to reach "a fair contract."
USMX has previously said its focus is on modernization, not automation.
The ILA says it always supports modern technologies that improve safety, efficiency and freight volume, but only if "people are always in control." "For 13 years, our position has been clear: We welcome technology that improves jobs, but not at the expense of ILA members' jobs. Whether it is fully automatic or semi-automatic, it will displace jobs and undermine workers' rights."
It is reported that the conflict of the labor negotiations, focused on pay and benefits and terminal automation areas, due to the failure to reach an agreement on a new contract, ILA held a general strike on October 1, involving 36 ports in the eastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico, 50,000 longshoreworkers.
In the end, USMX gave in and reached a preliminary agreement on ILA members' salaries, which will increase by 61.5 percent over six years, while extending the main contract until January 15, 2025. However, on sensitive issues such as terminal automation, no resolution was reached at that time and negotiations would continue.
Peter Sand, principal analyst at industry analyst Xeneta, said at the time that the main obstacle to resolving the dispute was the terminal operator's desire to introduce automation, which would dramatically increase production efficiency but at the same time dramatically reduce the workforce, which was unacceptable to the union.
However, many people in the industry believe that the negotiation prospects of terminal automation issues are not promising, and the ILA announcement of the breakdown of negotiations also confirmed this. If the management does not make concessions on terminal automation, the ILA is highly likely to strike again in January 2025.
