Title: Striking US Dockworkers to Return to Negotiating Table Amid Threats of Another Strike
The International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) will resume contract discussions on January 7, two months after talks broke down in November. The 45,000 US dockworkers, including those in New York and New Jersey, went on strike over wages, automation, and other labor issues.
A tentative deal reached in October gave workers a 62% wage hike over six years, but the issue of automation remains unresolved. The two sides are still at an impasse, and if a second strike occurs, the agreed wage agreement would be taken off the table, and both parties would be back at square one.
US President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his support for the dockworkers’ pushback against automation, stating that the economic benefits of automation are not worth the harm it causes to American workers. He also criticized foreign companies for profiting from US port markets and suggested that they should instead invest in their workers.
The deadline for reaching a deal is January 15, and if a new agreement is not reached, the US dockworkers may be forced to strike again, potentially delaying cargo shipments and impacting the global supply chain.