Copy
International Longshoremen’s Association Slated for Tough Labor Talks
Source: Journal of Commerce 

The International Longshoremen’s Association’s President Harold Daggett has predicted a potentially contentious round of negotiations with United States Maritime Alliance on a new US East and Gulf Coast dockworker contract agreement to replace the existing contact set to expire on September 30, 2018. With the topic in demand being automation, the emphasis will be on the union’s opposition to fully automated terminals. 

These impending negotiations come as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association are also preparing for open bargaining on a West Coast dockworker contract to replace the one that expires July 1, 2019. Coastwide shutdowns were narrowly averted during negotiations for the ILA in 2012 to 2013, and the ILWU in 2014 to 2015.

Daggett’s fight against fully automated terminals is born out of his concern for how they impede and potentially eliminate ILA job security and jurisdiction. He has no issue with semi-automated terminals. No fully automated terminals exist in East or Gulf Coast ports at this time, though Virginia and GCT Bayonne in New York-New Jersey use remote-controlled, rail-mounted gantry cranes for stacking containers in terminal yards. 

The other issue to be deliberated in these negotiations is the renewed emphasis on local contract issues. The ILA contracts are negotiated in two levels-Master, and supplemental local contracts. The ILA-USMX master contracts covers wages, the medical plan, carrier-paid container royalties, and other coast-wide issues. Supplemental local contracts cover work rules, pensions, and other port-specific issues. It is common for negotiations on local contracts in some ports to extend months or even years after ratification of the coast-wide agreement.

This topic follows an incident which took place in 2013 after the master contract was ratified. The ILA’s largest local in Baltimore went on strike for three days over local issues. In a precedent-setting award, an authority ruled that once the master contract takes effect, its no-strike clause cannot be nullified by a dispute over local issues. 

In this coming round of negotiations, Daggett seeks to ensure that the union retains leverage in local contract negotiations stating that major ports such as Baltimore, Hampton Roads, and Charleston were without local agreements for months to years after the master contract took effect. He intends to make certain that the ILA members at all ports are satisfied with their local agreements before any ratification to the entire package.

As always, we will closely monitor the situation and provide you with periodic updates. We thank you for your understanding and continued support. Please do not hesitate to contact your customer service representative if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank You,
- The CargoTrans / MariTrans / DFS Team  
Share
Tweet
Forward
+1
Share
Track your shipment anytime.

CargoTrans & MariTrans
track.cargotransinc.com

DeFili Solutions [DFS] WMS
wms.defilisolutions.com
Simplifying Logistics.
CargoTrans  |  MariTrans
170 E. Sunrise Hwy, Valley Stream, NY 11581  |  Tel +1 516-593-5871
Copyright © 2017  All rights reserved.
We'd hate to see you go, but you can unsubscribe here.