Truce called in ports strike

Longshoremen and U.S. port operators said late Thursday they “have reached a tentative agreement on wages” and dock workers will suspend their job action until Jan. 15, enabling operations to resume at East Coast and Gulf of Mexico terminals.

In a joint statement the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. (USMX) said they have agreed to extend their master contract until mid-January and then will “return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues.”

The ILA had sought a 77% base pay raise over five years. The joint statement had no detail but news media reports Thursday evening quoted 62% as a possible number.

 Along with the ILA’s quest for higher worker pay, both sides were divided on the issue of automation at the ports – which union officials say endangered their members’ jobs. ILA president Harold Daggett had declared the automation issue “non-negotiable,” while port operators and shippers warned that resisting technology will make the U.S. maritime industry less competitive.

In its third day the strike had already raised deep alarms in U.S. industries. News of an even temporary resolution was hailed by President Biden, whose administration put its support behind the union even as it pressed for negotiations.

 “I applaud the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance for coming together to reopen the East Coast and Gulf ports and ensure the availability of critical supplies for Hurricane Helene recovery and rebuilding,” Biden posted on social media. “Collective bargaining works.”

News that the ILA would suspend the strike came after earlier tense reports that the union and USMX had broken off talks. On Wednesday the ILA’s strike news website published a statement saying Daggett and other union leaders “have received vicious death threats and other forms of intimidation” after after the New York Post published a story including aerial photos of his New Jersey home.

“The publication of pictures of Mr. Daggett’s home is reckless and places Mr. Daggett and his family at great risk of personal harm,” his attorney, Michael Critchley wrote in a letter to the New York Post according to the union. “Mr. Daggett has already received several threats to his life. The N.Y. Post must immediately remove these pictures from all versions of the article and refrain from any further publications of pictures of Mr. Daggett’s home.”