The promotional products industry and beyond can rest easier ahead of the holiday shopping season, as the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has ended its massive strike after three days, reopening ports along the East and Gulf coasts.
On Thursday, the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents the ports, reached a tentative agreement on wages and agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025, to add more time to negotiate a new contract.
The agreement amounts to a $4-per-hour raise for each year of the six-year contract, CNN reported, a dollar short of what ILA President Harold Daggett had demanded. The union’s other demands – “absolute airtight language” that there will be no automation or semi-automation, and that all container royalty money goes to the ILA – are believed to still be under negotiation.
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.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 4, 2024
Collective bargaining works.
“Today’s tentative agreement on a record wage and an extension of the collective bargaining process represents critical progress towards a strong contract,” President Joe Biden said. “I congratulate the dockworkers from the ILA, who deserve a strong contract after sacrificing so much to keep our ports open during the pandemic. And I applaud the port operators and carriers who are members of the US Maritime Alliance for working hard and putting a strong offer on the table.”
Despite being urged to enact the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows the government to force union workers back to work when it’s deemed sufficiently necessary for the good of the country, Biden had refused to intervene, arguing that “collective bargaining is the best way for workers to get the pay and benefits they deserve.”
BREAKING: Staten Island Port Strikers CELEBRARE as they hear news of strike SUSPENSION.
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) October 3, 2024
Strike is Suspended until January 15th – "The agreement will allow the union and the U.S Maritime Alliance, which represents the shippers and ports, time to negotiate a new six-year… pic.twitter.com/c7zJ9fwEKa
Workers at ports from Maine to Texas, which handle about half of all goods shipped to the United States in containers, walked off the job as part of the union’s first strike in nearly 50 years.
- As a result, the U.S. economy was projected to lose between $3.8 billion and $4.5 billion each day that the ports were closed, according to analysts at J.P. Morgan.
If the strike lasted more than a week, the country would have had to start worrying about a “bigger economic doomsday scenario,” said Anthony D’Ambrosio, vice president of sales at Supply Chain Solutions, a transportation and logistics consultancy in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
D’Ambrosio accurately predicted that the work stoppage wouldn’t last much longer considering the disastrous effects it would have had on the economy.
- Supply Chain Solutions is a partner of business services member Shipper’s Advocate (PPAI 720150), which specializes in domestic small parcel shipping cost management.
- For international freight services, Shipper’s Advocate partners with Supply Chain Solutions.
