Negotiations between the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) appear to have stalled out once again, as the two parties continue to clash over the future of automation at East and Gulf Coast ports.
According to a November 13 release from the USMX, the most recent round of negotiations lasted two days, where “positive progress” was made on a handful of issues. Even so, the USMX said that they weren’t able to make headway on discussions regarding the use of automation, which has been a sticking point for dockworkers since talks began.
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“The ILA is insisting on an agreement that would move our industry backward by restricting future use of technology that has existed in some of our ports for nearly two decades – making it impossible to evolve to meet the nation’s future supply chain demands,” the USMX claimed.
The ILA has been adamant in its assertion that automation would jeopardize union jobs, and has insisted that any new labor deal would need to come with guarantees promising that the technology will not be implemented at East and Gulf Coast ports in the future. A March 2024 report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office determined that in countries that have used automation at ports, jobs in some cases were lost, although many other existing roles were changed instead of eliminated.
The ILA went on strike for three days in early October, before eventually reaching an agreement with the USMX to increase the union’s wages and extend its master contract through January 15, 2025. If they can’t reach a permanent long-term labor deal by that date, the ILA could go on strike again, which would effectively shut down East and Gulf Coast ports days before the start of the next presidential administration.
