[Freight Weekly] ILA Strike Likely in January if No Deal Struck With USMX

✊🏻 The International Longshoremen Association and USMX are at an impasse once again. A deadline of January 15, 2025, has been set to reach a contract deal, or a strike could happen on East and Gulf Coast ports in states like Florida and Texas.

• ILA President Dennis A. Daggett warned port employers represented by USMX that they are ready to stage a walkout and go on strike on January 15 if a master contract isn’t agreed upon and ratified in time. One of the key points of dispute is on port automation that Daggett’s union alleges will kill jobs as dozens of ports.

• “The ILA has always supported modernization when it leads to increased volumes and efficiency. We embrace technologies that improve safety and efficiency, [but] only when a human being remains at the helm,” said Daggett via World Cargo News. They believe that modernization promoted by port and terminal operators is a threat to the union members’ ability to maintain liveable wages in the future.

• USMX member companies disagree. They argue in a press statement, “USMX is not, nor has it ever been, seeking to eliminate jobs but to simply implement and maintain the use of equipment and technology already allowed under the current contract agreements and already widely in use, including at some USMX ports.”

• Days prior, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated the potential damage to the national economy if another ILA strike occurred in January. Citing JPMorgan Chase calculations, an ILA strike could cost the economy $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion daily. Even a few days on strike could cause product shortages across the eastern, southeastern, and east central United States. The chamber’s analysis also takes into consideration ILA’s risky steps away from the negotiating table.

• “Walking away from the negotiating table is a reckless gamble with America's economic future,” wrote John Drake, the chamber’s vice president for supply chain policy. ILA labor negotiations are additionally a noteworthy stressor on the U.S. economy as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

• Tariffs, a longshoremen's strike, a trade war with China, and threats to kill the USMCA trade agreement could put U.S. companies and consumers in a bind.

Bottom line: A snowball effect—or a perfect storm—can be expected in the coming months. Believe it or not, a new Donald Trump era will significantly impact the outcome of the ILA-USMX negotiations—and it might not be for the best. However, as things are between the union and the USMX member companies, this labor crisis will turn into his first economic and labor policy test, which he can pass or fail. Sending positive vibes.

CONTEXT: “The ILA Could Strike Again in January: What You Need to Know” - U.S. Chamber of Commerce

KEEP IN MIND: “Best Buy expects tariffs to drive price increases” - Supply Chain Dive

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