The long running threat of a second dock strike on the east coast and Gulf ports of America appears to have been averted.
On the 8th January, the International Longshoremen’s Association representing dock workers and the United States Maritime Alliance representing terminal employers confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached on a new six-year contract.
Both sides stated that the tentative agreement averts “any work stoppage on January 15.” Both sides have agreed to operate under the current contract until the union can arrange for it’s wage scale committee to meet to ratify the agreement. Representatives of the terminal operators can confirm the agreement.
The contents of the deal have not been released but it includes an agreement on wages, implementing a framework to introduce technologies that both modernise and create more jobs at the ports covered by the new agreement.
In the short term, it is good news that one more potential source of disruption to the supply chain has been averted. It will be interesting to see how it will be possible to introduce technologies that will create more jobs whilst modernising the ports.
