Longshoreman’s Union, Maritime Alliance Rattle Sabres Ahead of 10/1 Strike Threat

The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) yesterday requesting immediate injunctive relief requiring the ILA to return to the bargaining table ahead of Monday’s potential strike date.

The ILA dismissed the action as a publicity stunt. 

“USMX filing these charges four days before the expiration of the current Master Contract clearly illustrates what poor negotiating partners they have been,” the ILA said. “If it wasn’t for the ILA engaging in serious and productive negotiations, most of the local agreements would not have been settled over the past year.”

The two sides haven’t started formal bargaining despite the ILA’s threat that some 45,000 workers will walk off their jobs without a new contract.  The master contract expiration date is just four days away, and the union has made it clear of its intentions to strike on Oct. 1, if an agreement is not reached by Sept. 30.

ILA dockworkers are among the best-paid blue-collar workers in America. Thanks to work rules and overtime requirements, the dockworkers’ base hourly rate of $39 often translates into a six-figure annual salary.

The ILA argues that its members deserve a big raise after working through the Covid-19 pandemic, when the world’s largest ocean shipping companies earned record profits totaling hundreds of billions of dollars.

Many East Coast and Gulf Coast ports extended their operating hours this week so importers could clear cargo from the docks ahead of an expected shutdown at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

ILA president Harold Daggett explained in a recent video to union members that for the 2024 contract negotiations, the union would first negotiate all the local agreements from the 14 major ports from Maine to Texas before the ILA would sign off on a Master Contract.

The USMX has said in a statement recently posted to its website that the ILA continued to “strongly signal” that it has already made the decision to strike.