By: Anthony Montano, 2L
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is a union of port workers on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico, Eastern Canada, and the Bahamas, boasting over 85,000 members.
On November 11, 2014, ILA entered into a Master Contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). USMX is a non-profit corporation, which represents the interests of port employers on the East Coast. Article XVI of the Master Contract is a No-Strike Clause, which prohibits ILA from striking in any way during the contract’s tenure. The agreement’s terms were set to run for six years, from October 1, 2018 until September 30, 2024. As the agreement’s end rapidly approaches, turmoil may be ahead.
ILA’s primary concern in upcoming negotiations is USMX’s alleged development of port automation technology. ILA claims that USMX aims to eliminate port worker labor by developing technology that eliminates human labor. With the original Master Agreement’s deadline swiftly approaching, and both sides struggling to come to the negotiating table, ILA President, Harold Daggett, suggests that the threat of a strike is becoming more likely.
The potential ramifications of a strike in this scenario are devastating. With the U.S. still recovering from the high prices and inflation caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, another disruption to the North American supply chain could drive prices even higher for a vast array of goods.
The situation between ILA and USMX is paralleled by the ongoing dispute between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) and Canadian National (CN). On August 26, 2024, TCRC served CN with a notice of strike over the expiration of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement. With the strike imminent, the Canadian government announced plans to issue a back-to-work order for the TCRC, based on predictions of hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage.
Some are calling for the Biden administration to intervene in the negotiations between ILA and USMX, similar to how the administration resolved the labor dispute on the West Coast ports. However, President Daggett has stated that he does not want outside parties, including the Biden administration, and the Department of Labor, involved in any part of the negotiating process. With less than a month remaining before the Master Contract’s expiration, time is running out to reach a deal.
