The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) have announced that they will resume discussions on a new master contract in November. This comes after a recent three-day strike led by the union, which involved 45,000 members and resulted in the shutdown of container and vehicle handling at 36 East and Gulf Coast ports.
The strike was resolved with the help of Biden administration officials, who facilitated an extension of the previous master contract until Jan. 15, 2025. Following this, the two sides reached an agreement on a 62% pay raise over the six years of a new pact, with discussions continuing on other issues such as the deployment of automation in port operations.
Negotiators plan to meet in New Jersey to finalize terms for a new Master Contract Proposal, which will then be presented to the full ILA Wage Scale Committee for approval and subsequently to ILA longshore workers for ratification. The ILA and USMX have expressed their eagerness to reach a new agreement swiftly.
Both parties have stated that they will not disclose details of the negotiations to the media before these meetings take place.
