US Port Strike In January – An Upcoming Threat
There appears to be a significant risk of another port strike on the US East and Gulf Coasts in January, which would have a devastating impact on ocean freight services.
45,000 workers across 36 ports walked out on strike in October, before agreeing to return to work after just three days when a wage deal was agreed.
However, while the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) resolved the wage issue, the return to work was only temporarily agreed until January 15th to allow time for the rest of the issues to be resolved.
The two parties have still not come to an agreement over port automation and remain poles apart in their views, with the most recent talks breaking down last month. Having been scheduled for four days, the negotiations were cut short and ended after two days.
In the past few days, President-elect Donald Trump has now had his say on the situation, stating that the money that could be saved by port automation “is nowhere near the distress, hurt and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our longshoremen”.
Trump is seemingly backing the union, whether that has a negative or positive impact on negotiations remains to be seen.
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