ILA Cancels Contract Talks with US East Coast Ports

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has canceled contract talks with US East Coast port employers over a dispute over automation that would threaten the jobs of tens of thousands of union workers.

ILA Cancels Contract Talks with US East Coast Ports

Union Says Port Employers Want Automation in New Longshoremen’s Agreement

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has canceled contract talks with US East and Gulf Coast port employers, accusing them of including automation technology in a new labor agreement that would eliminate union jobs.

This week, the ILA and employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance resumed negotiations on a new six-year master contract that would cover 45,000 union workers who handle containers at dozens of U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports.

In a statement posted to social media and later deleted, the ILA said that during meetings in New Jersey, “USMX introduced language in their proposal for semi-automated equipment to be used at ILA ports, which this union outright rejected. The ILA recognized this as a renewed attempt by USMX to eliminate ILA jobs with automation and broke off talks.”

The ILA has been adamant that it will not allow automation technology as part of the new contract. A three-day union strike in early October halted container handling at 36 port facilities and threatened the flow of billions of dollars in cargo. The strike ended when Biden administration officials convinced the parties to agree to extend the current contract through January 15 while negotiations continued.

“The ILA’s resolve remains strong not to surrender any ILA jobs,” the union said. “We are disappointed that USMX would attempt to disregard our ILA’s well-known position opposing job-cutting automation and semi-automation. Once again, employers who are raking in billion-dollar profits annually have exposed their ultimate goal of wanting to eliminate as many ILA jobs as possible, and replace our ILA longshore workers with robotic equipment.”

By the time the strike ended, the union and employers had agreed to a 62% wage increase over the life of the new contract.

“While we had positive progress on a number of issues, we were unable to make significant progress on our discussions that focused on a range of technology issues,” USMX said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the ILA is insisting on an agreement that would move our industry backward by restricting future use of technology that has existed in some of our ports for nearly two decades – making it impossible to evolve to meet the nation’s future supply chain demands."

“The USMX has been clear that we are not seeking technology that would eliminate jobs. What we need is continued modernization that is essential to improve worker safety, increase efficiency in a way that protects and grows jobs, keeps supply chains strong, and increases capacity that will financially benefit American businesses and workers alike."