Harold J. Daggett president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, speaks to striking dockworkers at Maher Terminals in Elizabeth on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Photo by Mark Bonamo for New Jersey Monitor)
The International Longshoremen’s Association and a group representing their employers reached a tentative agreement that is set to avert widespread strikes that could have strangled the flow of goods through the country’s ports as early as next week.
The terms of the tentative agreement, which comes months after a three-day strike in October that threatened to cripple shipping nationwide, were not publicly released to allow members of the union and the United States Maritime Alliance to review them prior to final approval.
“This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coasts ports — making them safer and more efficient and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong,” the two sides said in a joint statement.
The earlier strike ended after the Maritime Alliance agreed to raise port worker wages by 62% over the next six years.
But the two sides remained at odds over job protections against automation, and strikes could have resumed after Jan. 15 if no agreement was reached.
Though the details of the agreement announced Wednesday are not yet public, ILA International President Harold Daggett said in a separate statement it would include protections against automation for the union’s workers, which number between 45,000 and 85,000.
The union leader credited President-elect Donald Trump, who made statements on social media in support of automation job protections.
“He’s a hero to our ILA union and members,” Daggett said. “President Trump gets full credit for our successful tentative Master Contract agreement.”
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