The strike is by no means a remote possibility. On the contrary, it is becoming more and more likely.
A storm is brewing in the US East Coast ports where the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union are negotiating the renewal of the contract that expires on 30th September.
Talks that had never even begun, to tell the truth, due to the ILA’s long battle against automation.
What had brought the International Longshoremen’s Association to the barricades months ago was APM Terminals’ decision to introduce an automated gate system capable of processing trucks without the need for manpower at its terminal in the Port of Mobile, Alabama. The ILA had called the Auto Gate System a clear breach of the existing contract and stated that it would not meet with USMX unless the problem was first permanently resolved.
ILA President Harold Daggett said, at the time, that it made no sense to try to negotiate a new deal with USMX when one of its major companies continues to violate their current agreement with the sole objective of cutting jobs through automation.
Now the parties seem more inclined to restart negotiations even though the ILA is already on the warpath, so much so that it has announced the possibility of calling a strike on 1st October.
Next month, the ILA will update its contract demands, and present them to its delegates at the meetings on 4th and 5th September. The delegates will then assess the demands to be presented to the USMX.
Harold Daggett, however, warns: ‘We are ready to ‘hit the streets’ if our demands are not met.
Translation by Giles Foster
