NORTH BERGEN, NJ—Tens of thousands of International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) longshore workers, at ports from Maine to Texas, are preparing for a possible strike on October 1st. Negotiations between the union on the East and Gulf coasts and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) have not developed further since June 10, bringing the union’s rank-and-file workers to a strike authorization vote. The contract ends on September 30.
“A sleeping giant is ready to roar on Tuesday if a new Master Contract Agreement is not in place,” said ILA President Harold J. Daggett. “Our members have been preparing for over a year for that possibility of a strike.”
The dockworkers are willing and ready to stand up and walk off the job if a deal is not reached by Monday of next week.
The ILA has pointed out that USMX has opted to engage in a vicious propaganda campaign designed to portray ILA longshore workers as “greedy” in order to mask their own incompetence and failure in these negotiations, which began nearly two years ago when they entered into exploratory talks with the union.
“Inflation has completely eaten into any raises and wages. Everything is more expensive, even compared to six years ago. Our members are struggling to pay their mortgages and rent, car payments, groceries, utility bills, taxes, and in some cases, their children’s education. USMX’s corporate greed has made them delusional – profits over people. They have taken advantage of a low entry-wage and a tiered progression system for thirty years,” the union said in a statement.
Enormous ramifications
The contract between the ILA and USMX is one of the largest contracts expiring this year and a potential strike would have enormous ramifications—economically to the tune of billions of dollars per day—and politically, with the looming 2024 elections just around the corner.
Political pressure on the Biden Administration to avoid a potential disruptive strike of this magnitude is very real. Inflation and rising costs of living are already major issues impacting working families—and much discussed during the presidential debates and campaigns.
While the dockworkers aren’t subject to the Railway Labor Act that led to the Biden Administration blocking a railroad strike in 2022, the much-hated (by workers and unions) Taft-Hartley Act does allow the federal government to seek an injunction, force mediation, and effectively block a strike during any labor fights that they deem a “federal emergency.” Workers are paying attention to whether or not the Biden Administration will impose federal oversight on them or let the labor dispute process carry on.
The last time the ILA called a strike on the East Coast was in 1977 which lasted seven weeks. As of 2016, the last time the union conducted an action, a one-day protest against the actions of the Waterfront Commission, a government oversight agency, took place in New York and New Jersey.
Like with many workers across the country, automation is seen as a major obstacle and potential threat to job safety. Labor typically done by ILA union members, ranging from moving to stacking containers on the ports and in the shipyard, is now being done by driverless vehicles and straddle carriers or wheeled cranes. The current ILA contract, which expires on Sept. 30, prohibits the company from using “fully automated terminals and fully automated equipment.”
However, workers are fearing that USMX may try to weaken this security provision for the next contract. The dignity of work and job security weigh heavy on the minds of the workers there. Safety concerns and wage increases top the list of priorities in bargaining. The union is calling for wages that are on par with the billion-dollar profits earned by the Ocean Carriers.
“Our ILA members never stopped working during the Covid pandemic, even with ILA longshore workers dying or becoming gravely ill,” Daggett said. “The companies that employ ILA pay their executives million-dollar bonuses while our longshore workers work all year, around the clock, in brutal conditions of freezing cold and scorching heat.”
The union maintains that their chance to fight for fair wages is now and has been preparing to strike for over a year. The International Dockworkers Council (IDC) has also pledged their support to the ILA in the upcoming fight.
“Port workers often serve the same shipping companies worldwide,” the IDC wrote. “Shipping companies make mega-profits and believe they can demand anything and everything from port workers and terminal operators. It is a right decision by ILA to set limits now and that now is the time for dockworkers to claim their share of the profits.”
“With an ILA membership united, coupled with an army of international dockworker unions ready to join the ILA in their battle against USMX, we are certain ILA members will achieve a landmark agreement, even if it takes a coast-wide strike beginning October 1st to get it,” the union said.
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