Dockworkers and their employers announced Wednesday evening that they have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract, averting a strike at East and Gulf Coast ports.
In a joint statement, the International Longshoremen’s Association, the union representing dockworkers in the labor discussions, and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) – a coalition of shipping lines, major port operators and employers – said that the two parties had agreed to “all items” on a new six-year contract.
Details of the agreement will not be released, the statement reads, but both sides say it protects existing union jobs.
“This is a win-win agreement that creates ILA jobs, supports American consumers and businesses, and keeps the American economy the key hub of the global marketplace,” the statement said.
The union, which represents tens of thousands of dockworkers, called a strike in October when the previous six-year contract expired. Workers returned to work three days later after the two parties settled on wage increases and an agreement to extend the master contract until Jan. 15 to provide more time to resolve outstanding issues.
Automation remained a sticking point in the ongoing talks though, as workers sought assurances that jobs would not be replaced by new port technologies. Critics warned that limiting automation at major East and Gulf Coast ports could blunt port efficiency gains and hurt U.S. competitiveness.
The agreement announced on Wednesday, the statement said, will establish “a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coast ports – making them safer and more efficient and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong.”
President Biden had pledged his support for the striking dockworkers in October, arguing that collective bargaining is the best way for workers to secure pay and benefit increases and urging ocean carriers to boost worker pay.
President-elect Donald Trump also threw his support behind the ILA in a Truth Social post, charging that the money saved by automation “is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers.”
In a statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday evening, however, ILA President Harold Daggett only praised Trump for his role in securing a deal.
“You have proven yourself to be one of the best friends of working men and women in the United States,” Daggett said, according to the statement, adding that the incoming president’s “bold stance helped prevent a second coast wide strike at ports from Maine to Texas.”
Of particular significance, the statement continued, was a two-hour meeting between Trump, Daggett and his son and ILA Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 12. During the meeting, the ILA statement said, Trump called USMX representatives and pledged his support for the dockworkers, according to the ILA statement.
Trump penned his supportive Truth Social post later that day.
This meeting and Trump’s public support, the ILA said, was “the chief reason” workers were able to secure automation protections and reach an agreement on the new contract.
“President Trump gets full credit,” Harold Daggett said in the statement.
Both the ILA and USMX will need to ratify the contract, but both sides said they would continue to work under the existing contract until the new deal is ratified, averting the possibility of another strike.
The news will provide relief to many agriculture producers and importers who had been watching the negotiations with trepidation. Dozens of ag and food producers had written to President Biden in December warning of the economic fallout of another port strike and urging the administration to press both sides to find a solution to the labor dispute.
“This tentative contract agreement is great news for red meat exporters and for all of U.S. agriculture,” U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom said in a statement. “The assurance that there will be no work stoppage at East and Gulf Coast ports eliminates a cloud of uncertainty and bolsters the U.S. industry's reputation as a reliable supplier of pork, beef and lamb.”
