USMX Archives - The Loadstar

Forwarders warn shippers to expect a second ILA-USMX work stoppage

Ian Putzger Americas correspondent — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:35:04 +0000

There was widespread relief that the work stoppage at US east and Gulf coast ports at the beginning of October was called off after three days. While it has taken some time to clear the congestion at afflicted ports like Savannah, this was nothing like the system-wide paralysis that had been widely predicted if the strike had been allowed to go on.
Beyond the immediate relief of facing a peak season ...

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US ports re-open as ILA and USMX extend master contract – and negotiations – to January

Alex Lennane — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 08:59:15 +0000

The USMX and the ILA – likely under the influence of the White House – have ended the strike, for now, with ports re-opening today.
The pair announced last night that they have reached a “tentative agreement on wages” and that they will extend the current master contract until 15 January, five days before the new US president takes office.
In a joint statement, they said that they would “return to the ...

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Talks rumoured to be underway after USMX urged ILA back to the table

Alex Lennane — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 09:01:32 +0000

There is growing noise in the market that talks between the ILA and USMX are underway.
Today the ILA, notably, had not updated its Facebook page – where it has been making announcements – for more than 16 hours.
No images, no speeches, no noise at all, which is uncharacteristic. There have also been no statements from the USMX.
And speculation is growing on social media that negotiations may have restarted.
Peter Mento, commercial ...

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Statement from President Joe Biden on the negotiations between USMX and the International Longshoremen’s Association

LoadstarEditorial — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 19:25:00 +0000

PRESS RELEASE
THE WHITE HOUSE
October 01, 2024
Collective bargaining is the best way for workers to get the pay and benefits they deserve. I have urged USMX, which represents a group of foreign-owned carriers, to come to the table and present a fair offer to the workers of the International Longshoremen’s Association that ensures they are paid appropriately in line with their invaluable contributions. Ocean carriers have made record profits since the ...

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Laying it on a bit thick: how ‘lines are cashing in on stevedores’ just demands’

Gavin van Marle — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:01:51 +0000

A massive port strike has broken out on the US east and Gulf coasts, and with it has come an almighty avalanche of hyperbolic misinformation.
Let’s take the juiciest first: yesterday’s claim by ILA president Harold Daggett that carriers were now charging shippers $30,000 per container.
At the risk of being accused of taking things out of context, here’s the full quote: “The shippers [he means carriers] are gouging their customers that results ...

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Atlantic and Gulf coast US ports close as ILA rejects last-minute offer

Alex Lennane — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 11:44:32 +0000

Some 36 major ports on the US east and Gulf coasts have now shuttered, despite a last-minute near-50% wage increase offer from employers’ association USMX.
In a statement the USMX said: “In the last 24 hours, the USMX and ILA have traded counter offers related to wages. The USMX increased our offer and has also requested an extension of the current master contract, now that both sides have moved off their ...

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USMX and ILA in ‘claims blame game’ as strike deadline looms

Gavin van Marle — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 13:07:29 +0000

As the deadline for a new contract between the US east and Gulf coast members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and employer body the USMX draws agonisingly closer, the blame game is already well under way.
Yesterday saw another exchange of public announcements, with each side claiming the other refuses to negotiate.
“Despite additional attempts by USMX to engage with the ILA and resume bargaining, we have been unable to schedule ...

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White House rejects plea to use legal powers to prevent USEC port strike

Alex Lennane — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 11:45:18 +0000

An east and Gulf coast port strike is looking increasingly likely today, after the White House said it would not invoke its legal powers to intervene.
The response was triggered by a letter from 177 trade associations urging the US government to act if negotiations with the ILA don’t resume.
Terminal employers’ association USMX welcomed the letter sent yesterday to the government, ILA and USMX, urging the White House to “immediately ...

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Dockers of the world: Unite and take over

Gavin van Marle — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 12:13:12 +0000

For the past half-year or so, it has been Premium’s contention that an International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike across the US’s east and Gulf coasts was unlikely to happen, largely because the present White House administration had shown itself to lean on the side of labour in previous disputes – a view most succinctly summed up by this quote from Peter Friedmann of the Agricultural Transportation Coalition, speaking at the ...

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East coast port strike threat grows – and Canadian rail dispute still lingers

Charlotte Goldstone — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 12:25:53 +0000

There will be no rest for North American shippers as one strike ends, because another threatens to “increase delays and drive up costs”.
On Friday, east coast port employers the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) said that, along with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), it had filed a ‘notice to mediation agencies’ with the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS).
This is to inform the FMCS of a dispute between ...

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