International Longshoreman’s Association

Labor warns Alabama port authority seeks ‘back door’ to automation

A labor union is warning regulators that the federal government would be subsidizing future job cuts as well as a drive toward freight automation if a Buy America waiver sought by the Alabama State Port Authority (ASPA) is approved.

ASPA told the Federal Railroad Administration that the waiver is necessary in order to purchase two rubber-tired gantry cranes that it wants to install at its planned intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF) in Montgomery, Alabama.

Projects that receive funding...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/labor-warns-alabama-port-authority-seeks-back-door-to-automation

State of Freight for October: The bullish feeling is starting to grow

The FreightWaves SONAR State of Freight webinar for October took place on a day sandwiched between freight market movers that didn’t move things all that much – hurricanes and a port strike – but just ahead of a consequential election in which tariffs and their potential impact on supply chains are very much on the ballot.

Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s discussion.

The bottom might have been reached

Craig Fuller, CEO of SONAR, declared: “We are at the bottom of the cycle.”...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/state-of-freight-for-october-the-bullish-feeling-is-starting-to-grow

Jacksonville Port Authority braces for Hurricane Helene, possible ILA strike

As Hurricane Helene inches closer to Florida and a possible strike looms over East and Gulf Coast ports, the Jacksonville Port Authority has provided a weather and labor update.

According to a news release from the Jacksonville Port Authority, the U.S. Coast Guard has set the port to condition Zulu, which prohibits vessel movements. The release states that the port’s terminal gates will remain open throughout the storms, though this might change depending on the storm’s movement and direction...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/jacksonville-port-authority-braces-for-hurricane-helene-possible-ila-strike

Ports detail strike contingencies

With just days to go until a planned strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association could shut down East and Gulf Coast marine container traffic, ports and terminals are making plans to help shippers, truckers and other logistics providers through the aborning supply chain crisis.

The union has set a strike date of Oct. 1, when the current contract covering workers at ports from the Eastern Seaboard to the Gulf Coast expires.

Negotiations on a new six-year master contract have stalled...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ports-detail-strike-contingencies

Employers: Still time for East Coast port deal

Facing a dire countdown to the first dock strike in decades, employers at East and Gulf Coast ports say a new contract is still within reach, and publicly called for the International Longshoremen’s Association to return to contract talks.

“There has been no further progress on Master Contract negotiations – we remain committed to the bargaining process and need the ILA to return to the table,” the United States Maritime Exchange (USMX) said in a brief statement Friday.

The ILA, with the current...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/employers-still-time-for-east-coast-port-deal

Potential port strike has retailers, manufacturers scrambling

Retailers and manufacturers are seeking to mitigate a potentially multibillion-dollar hit if members of the International Longshoremen’s Association go on strike beginning Oct. 1 at 13 of the nation’s major East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.

The contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, which negotiates on behalf of management of the ports, terminals and shipping lines, is due to expire at midnight on Sept. 30. The contract covers 25,000 workers and ports stretching from...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/potential-port-strike-has-retailers-manufacturers-scrambling

Union reps back East and Gulf Coast dock strike

Representatives of unionized dockworkers this week unanimously supported leadership calls for a strike at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports if a new contract with employers isn’t reached by Oct. 1.  

Nearly 300 International Longshoremen’s Association delegates concluded two days of meetings in New Jersey by unanimously supporting International President Harold J. Daggett’s call for a coastwide strike at ports from Maine to Texas on Oct. 1 if a new Master Contract with United States Maritime...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/union-reps-back-east-and-gulf-coast-dock-strike

Dockworkers seek wage increase ‘commensurate’ with corporate profits

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) said dockworkers deserve wage hikes in line with the “billions of dollars” in recent financial results from ocean carriers.

The call for higher wages comes after the ILA canceled master contract talks on Tuesday with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) after accusing APM Terminals and Maersk of using automated technology at ports across the country, the ILA said. 

“USMX member-company’s profits are enormous, amounting to billions of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dockworkers-seek-wage-increase-commensurate-with-corporate-profits

Crippling port strike could hit 1 month before presidential election

Organized labor is having a moment. Unions representing port workers, parcel deliverers, auto workers, writers, actors, teachers and others are securing or seeking to secure hefty salary increases by striking or threatening to strike.

Container shipping flows to the U.S. have been affected by labor negotiations this year — and could be even more affected by union action in 2024.

In June, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents over 40,000 West Coast dockworkers,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/crippling-port-strike-could-hit-1-month-before-presidential-election

Regulators ask Biden for ‘immediate’ dockworker vaccinations

The wave of dockworkers testing positive for COVID-19 up and down the U.S. coasts has prompted maritime regulators to seek help directly from the White House.

In a letter sent Thursday to President Joe Biden, Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Commissioners Carl Bentzel and Daniel Maffei asked that in addition to prioritizing dockworkers for vaccines – which they requested from the Trump administration in December – they should be given access, in the interim, to rapid testing to minimize port...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/regulators-ask-biden-for-immediate-dockworker-vaccinations