As the clock ticks towards the 30 September expiry of the current labour contract between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) calls for both sides to sit down and negotiate an agreement continue to grow louder.

There is little sign this is likely, however. Today the USMX issued a statement saying it wants to bargain but the ILA is refusing to come to the table.

“Despite additional attempts by USMX to engage with the ILA and resume bargaining, we have been unable to schedule a meeting to continue negotiations on a new Master Contract. We remain prepared to bargain at any time, but both sides must come to the table if we are going to reach a deal, and there is no indication that the ILA is interested in negotiating at this time.

“USMX has received outreach from the Department of Labor, the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS), and other federal agencies and we will keep them up-to-date on the status of negotiations. We would be open to working with the FMCS, as we have done successfully in the past, but that is only possible if both sides agree to mediation.

“Our goal remains the same – we want to bargain and avoid a strike, but time is running out if the ILA is unwilling to return to the table,” the USMX said.

In its response the ILA accused the USMX of engaging in a “misleading publicity campaign”. The union said the two sides have in fact communicated multiple times in recent weeks, but the USMX continues to offer ILA longshore workers an “unacceptable wage increase package”.

“USMX knows what our bottom line with wages needs to be for our ILA rank-and-file to ratify a new Master Contract Agreement,” said Harold J. Daggett, the ILA’s International President and Chief Negotiator.  “They call me several times each week trying to get the ILA to accept a low-ball wage package. My ILA members are not going to accept these insulting offers that are a joke considering the work my ILA longshore workers perform, and the billion dollar profits the companies make off the backs of their labour.

“The blame for a coast wide strike in a week that will shut down all ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts falls squarely on the shoulders of USMX,” Daggett said.

Furthermore, the ILA said reporting it is seeking a 75%+ wage increase over the life of a new six-year contract, which the Union attributes to the USMX, is also incorrect.

“Deceiving the public with misleading calculations is not going to help get an agreement with the ILA,” said President Daggett. “Even a $5.00 an hour increase in wages for each year of a six-year agreement, only amounts to an average annual increase of approximately 9.98%.

“My ILA rank-and file membership are just as good in math as any of the companies,” Daggett continued.  “They are well aware of the profits made by the companies they work for and are even more motivated to hit the streets on October 1st if they don’t get the kind of wage increases, they firmly believe they deserve.”

As noted above the ILA’s figure of 9.98% is the average annual increase over six years from a wage increase of $5 per hour per year. Using just the base rate of US$39 per hour, which is the top of the scale for ILA roles, a $5 increase per hour over six years increases the hourly rate to $69 in the last year of the contract. This is an increase of 76.92% comparing the rate today to the rate in year six, which is arguably more accurate as the hourly rate increase compounds each year.

By way of comparison the International Longshore and Warehouse Union ILWU contract negotiated in 2023 included a 32% wage increase. The 32% figure is based on a $4.62-per-hour wage increase in year one and increases of $2 per hour in each of the remaining five years of the contract.

As the clock ticks towards the 30 September expiry of the current labour contract between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) calls for both sides to sit down and negotiate an agreement continue to grow louder.

There is little sign this is likely, however. Today the USMX issued a statement saying it wants to bargain but the ILA is refusing to come to the table.

“Despite additional attempts by USMX to engage with the ILA and resume bargaining, we have been unable to schedule a meeting to continue negotiations on a new Master Contract. We remain prepared to bargain at any time, but both sides must come to the table if we are going to reach a deal, and there is no indication that the ILA is interested in negotiating at this time.

“USMX has received outreach from the Department of Labor, the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS), and other federal agencies and we will keep them up-to-date on the status of negotiations. We would be open to working with the FMCS, as we have done successfully in the past, but that is only possible if both sides agree to mediation.

“Our goal remains the same – we want to bargain and avoid a strike, but time is running out if the ILA is unwilling to return to the table,” the USMX said.

In its response the ILA accused the USMX of engaging in a “misleading publicity campaign”. The union said the two sides have in fact communicated multiple times in recent weeks, but the USMX continues to offer ILA longshore workers an “unacceptable wage increase package”.

“USMX knows what our bottom line with wages needs to be for our ILA rank-and-file to ratify a new Master Contract Agreement,” said Harold J. Daggett, the ILA’s International President and Chief Negotiator.  “They call me several times each week trying to get the ILA to accept a low-ball wage package. My ILA members are not going to accept these insulting offers that are a joke considering the work my ILA longshore workers perform, and the billion dollar profits the companies make off the backs of their labour.

“The blame for a coast wide strike in a week that will shut down all ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts falls squarely on the shoulders of USMX,” Daggett said.

Furthermore, the ILA said reporting it is seeking a 75%+ wage increase over the life of a new six-year contract, which the Union attributes to the USMX, is also incorrect.

“Deceiving the public with misleading calculations is not going to help get an agreement with the ILA,” said President Daggett. “Even a $5.00 an hour increase in wages for each year of a six-year agreement, only amounts to an average annual increase of approximately 9.98%.

“My ILA rank-and file membership are just as good in math as any of the companies,” Daggett continued.  “They are well aware of the profits made by the companies they work for and are even more motivated to hit the streets on October 1st if they don’t get the kind of wage increases, they firmly believe they deserve.”

As noted above the ILA’s figure of 9.98% is the average annual increase over six years from a wage increase of $5 per hour per year. Using just the base rate of US$39 per hour, which is the top of the scale for ILA roles, a $5 increase per hour over six years increases the hourly rate to $69 in the last year of the contract. This is an increase of 76.92% comparing the rate today to the rate in year six, which is arguably more accurate as the hourly rate increase compounds each year.

By way of comparison the International Longshore and Warehouse Union ILWU contract negotiated in 2023 included a 32% wage increase. The 32% figure is based on a $4.62-per-hour wage increase in year one and increases of $2 per hour in each of the remaining five years of the contract.