The previous ILA contract ran from October 1, 2018, to September 30, 2024. The ILA and USMX agreed to extend the contract to January 15, 2025, on October 3, 2024, after a three-day strike at 36 U.S. ports served by the ILA on US the US East and Gulf Coasts. All major container terminals were affected by the strike.
The extension agreed to on October 3 was contingent on the two parties reaching an agreement on all outstanding issues. Prior to the extension, the USMX agreed to increase workers' wages by 62% over the life of the new 6-year contract. Both parties have announced that negotiations will restart on January 7th – giving just 8 days to come to terms on a new contract. Among other items, the main area of negotiation will center around automation.
The ILA has stated that they are not open to any amount of automation and President-elect Trump has met with the ILA leadership and has pledged support to them and is pressuring the USMX to agree to not implementing any automation technology. It is yet to be seen if the President will enact Taft-Hartley in the case of a strike to legally force the union back to work, but this may not be likely with him already expressing support for the union. Biden also did not enact Taft-Hartley and instead pressured the carriers to accept the pay increase and then pushed both sides to extend the contract. President-elect Trump will be sworn in on January 20th – 5 days after the contract expiration.
In anticipation of no agreement being reached and a strike starting at midnight on the 15th, carriers have started instructing customers to move containers from terminals as quickly as possible so as not to have them stuck in a protracted shutdown – customers should also return empty containers asap to avoid potential penalties and charges in the event of closed terminals. Import cargoes should be cleared as soon as possible so as not to delay their collection at the terminals. Various container lines have announced surcharges related to the strike that could go into effect on the 16th.
We are closely monitoring the situation and will keep everyone informed of any new information and updates we receive.
Potential Transport Alternatives
- Routing import and export cargoes via the West Coast
- Consider air freight where practical
- Look at moving some container to breakbulk carriage into some of the Gulf Ports
Feel free to contact our US teams in Houston, Miami, and Dallas to discuss the alternatives.
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