International Longshoremen’s Association

Predictions platform says longshore strike not a sure bet

While negotiations on a new East Coast longshore contract remain at a standstill, online bettors aren’t convinced a January strike is inevitable.

Users of crypto predictions platform Polymarket on Thursday rated odds of a work stoppage at 43%, down from a high of 64% Nov. 13 but up 28% in intraday betting.

The International Longshoremen’s Association broke off talks with the United States Maritime Alliance Nov. 13 over what the union said were efforts by employers to replace workers by forcing...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/predictions-platform-says-longshore-strike-not-a-sure-bet

Union, employers resume war of words in East Coast port contract dispute

The war of words resumed this week between port employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), and the International Longshoremen’s Association union and their 45,000 workers at East and Gulf Coast ports.

The sides had agreed to a media blackout when contract negotiations resumed following a three-day strike by the union that shut down container handling in early October. But that ceasefire was apparently abrogated after the ILA broke off talks Nov. 13, accusing employers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/union-employers-resume-war-of-words-in-east-coast-port-contract-dispute

Trans-Pacific, East Coast ocean rates strong in late November

Political and labor tensions kept late November container rates to the U.S. strong in what is usually a slow period following the peak shipping season. 

Average Asia-U.S. rates remained level and elevated at more than $5,000 per forty-foot equivalent unit since October, analyst Freightos said in its update for the week ending Nov. 22, with daily rates to the U.S. East Coast climbing past $6,000 since then. 

“This rate strength probably reflects some frontloading ahead of both a possible renewed...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trans-pacific-east-coast-ocean-rates-strong-in-late-november

US importers urge Biden to step up Red Sea protections

A year after attacks on Red Sea shipping began to reshape the global supply chain, a U.S.-based group is calling on President Joe Biden to do more to protect vessels transiting the Mideast trade route.

The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) also urged union longshore workers and employers to resume contract negotiations and avoid another shutdown of East and Gulf Coast ports that could put a chokehold on the American economy. 

The AAFA in a letter to Biden urged the government to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-importers-urge-biden-to-step-up-red-sea-protections

ILA breaks off East Coast port contract talks

The International Longshoremen’s Association has broken off contract negotiations with East and Gulf Coast port employers, accusing them of pushing automation technology into a new coastwise labor pact that would eliminate union jobs.

The ILA and employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance this week resumed bargaining on a new six-year master contract covering 45,000 union workers involved in container handling at dozens of East and Gulf Coast ports.

In a statement posted to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ila-breaks-off-east-coast-port-contract-talks

Ottawa orders end to port work stoppages

The work stoppages that have shut down container imports at Canada’s busiest ports will likely be coming to an end.

Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon on Tuesday asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order an end to lockouts of union employees and restart of port operations at the Port of Montreal and the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert in British Columbia.

The order would also direct binding arbitration in the bicoastal longshore contract disputes, and extend the current collective...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ottawa-orders-end-to-port-work-stoppages

East Coast port contract talks to resume

Negotiations on a new labor contract covering workers at 36 East and Gulf Coast ports are set to resume next week between employers and their longshore union.

Representatives of the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) will meet in northern New Jersey, where both organizations have offices, sources confirmed. 

Mediators will not be present at the talks, according to the sources, who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to comment...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/east-coast-port-contract-talks-to-resume

Montreal port calls on Trudeau to end strike

The head of the Port of Montreal on Thursday called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to intervene in a strike that has crippled container imports at Canada’s second-busiest import hub.

“I believe that the best agreements are negotiated at the table. But let’s face it: There are no negotiations, and … the government must act by offering both sides a path to true industrial peace,” said Julie Gascon, president and chief executive of the Montreal Port Authority, in remarks at a business luncheon...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/montreal-port-calls-on-trudeau-to-end-strike

ILA says Clean Port grants a ‘big win’ for union jobs

While shippers brace for a possible port strike early next year, the largest East Coast longshore union is praising the latest round of federal environmental funding it says protects dockside jobs from automation.

The Environmental Protection Agency earlier this week awarded $3 billion in Clean Ports grants, about half of that for “human-operated and human-maintained equipment” to convert container handling equipment from diesel to electrical power at some of the largest U.S. maritime hubs. 

New...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ila-says-clean-port-grants-a-big-win-for-union-jobs

East Coast port employers, longshore union to resume contract negotiations

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) in a joint announcement Friday said they will resume discussions on a new master contract in November.

The union earlier this month sent 45,000 members to picket lines during a three-day strike that shut down container and vehicle handling at 36 East and Gulf Coast ports.

The strike ended when Biden administration officials helped broker an extension of the previous master...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/east-coast-port-employers-longshore-union-to-resume-contract-negotiations

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