ILA-USMX deal praised by Biden, industry leaders

The two sides agreed to a three-month extension of the current master contract, reopening ports and allowing cargo flow to resume.

What happened

Multiple industry stakeholders celebrated the end of the International Longshoremen’s Association East and Gulf Coast port strike on Thursday.

The union and the United States Maritime Alliance came to a tentative deal on wages following the three-day work stoppage while agreeing to extend their master contract until Jan. 15, 2025. The extension allows both parties to resume negotiations over all other outstanding issues.

Why it matters

The threat of a strike itself pushed ports and ocean carriers to readjust their operations while some shippers moved cargo early. Now with a deal, some affected ports have begun reopening, bringing some level of certainty to shippers’ cargo bound for East and Gulf Coast terminals.

Leaders, shippers and trade associations wasted no time praising the agreement. Here are some highlights:

“I want to applaud the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance for coming together to reopen the East Coast and Gulf ports. Today’s tentative agreement on a record wage and an extension of the collective bargaining process represents critical progress towards a strong contract. 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.”

This news brief is based on reporting published by Supply Chain Dive on 2024-10-04. The original report is linked below.