[Freight Weekly] U.S. Port Strike Averted, Says Union and USMX

🫡🫡🫡The International Longshoremen Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced a tentative agreement was reached, averting a strike.

Resolving what could’ve been a “catastrophe” of a strike at East and Gulf Coast ports in the United States, ILA and USMX have finally reached an agreement on a new master contract promising significant raises for thousands of dockworkers and measures to do port automation in what both parties refer to as a “win-win” agreement for stakeholders:

• A joint ILA-USMX press statement published on Jan. 8 says, “This is a win-win agreement that creates ILA jobs, supports American consumers and businesses, and keeps the American economy the key hub of the global marketplace.”

• Industry groups and other labor unions praised the agreement reached between ILA and USMX. For example, the National Retail Federation (NRF) is pleased. If you don’t remember, the NRF represents most major retailers, like Walmart.

• The federation’s vice president of supply chain and customs policy, Jonathan Gold, said that the contract agreement between the union and port employers provides “certainty with a new contract and avoiding further disruptions is paramount to ensure retail goods arrive in a timely manner for consumers.”

• The National Retail Federation was a signatory to a joint letter signed by nearly 300 trade groups and sent to the leaders of the union and USMX in December. The letter urged that an agreement be reached or that port disruptions would ripple across virtually every segment of the U.S. economy, like food producers.

• Hopefully, the deal between ILA and USMX will be ratified by the ILA union’s members, blocking a contract deadline and strike scheduled for January 15.

• President-elect Donald Trump further complicated the negotiations leading to the contract agreement by recommending the port workers over the employers.

Bottom line: Good news for everyone, it appears. Dockworkers get a raise and a new commitment to responsibly apply automation and modernization efforts that don’t cost union jobs; entire segments of industry will be able to continue operations as usual.

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📰OTHER NEWS IN FREIGHT📰

🏗️Key Bridge reconstruction set to begin in the coming weeks: Efforts to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the controversial and devastating collapse of the bridge linking into Baltimore are expected to begin, starting with demolition. More right here.

🤦Trump wants the Panama Canal. That’s stupid or impossible: At least, that is the sentiment that the CEO of the Panama Canal Authority is giving in an interview that we highly recommend you read over at the Wall Street Journal.

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