The International Longshoremen’s Association laid out a strike mobilization plan during its wage scale meeting this week, the union said in a Sept. 5 statement.
As the contract expiration date approaches, a little over three weeks from now, the ILA will “most definitely” strike if it doesn’t get the contract it desires, ILA President Harold Daggett said in a video shared on Wednesday.
“We must be prepared if we have to hit the streets at 12:01 am on Tuesday, October 1, 2024,” Daggett said in the statement.
The strike plan would be enacted if an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance, known as USMX, is not reached by the Sept. 30 expiration of the current six-year agreement. The union did not respond for a request to comment on the plan at the time of publication.
“ILA members are elected Wage Scale delegates from their home locals (Ports from Maine to Texas) and participate in ILA Contract meetings to formulate demands the ILA will make to USMX,” an ILA spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive in an August email.
In response, the USMX said it’s prepared to resume negotiations and hopes the union will share its current contract demands to avoid a strike. Labor talks have been stalled over wage and port automation concerns.
The looming threat of a strike on the East Coast and Gulf Coast is driving shippers to move cargo ahead of potential disruption. Ports in Long Beach, California, and Los Angeles have seen an uptick in cargo volumes processed, with the ports citing those strike concerns as a driver of early cargo movements, along with tariff concerns and peak season activity.
As retailers look to mitigate disruption, the National Retail Federation urged both the ILA and USMX to resume negotiations in order to reach a new deal before the current contract expires.
“The threat of a strike during the peak shipping season has many retailers already implementing costly mitigation strategies,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.
Several other organizations, including the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, Cotton Growers Warehouse Association and International Dairy Foods Association, jointly sent a letter in June to President Joe Biden to “immediately work with both parties to resume contract negotiations and ensure there is no disruption to port operations and cargo fluidity.”