East & Gulf Coast Labor Negotiations – Union Threatens Port Strike

The six-year labor contract between the International Longshoremen Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) is set to expire on September 30, 2024.  The USMX represents employers at 36 coastal ports including three of the busiest ports in the United States, the Port of New York/New Jersey, the Port of Savannah, and the Port of Houston.  The ILA represents the 70,000 dockworkers in those ports.

Contract talks between the ILA and USMX began back in February of 2023; however, they aren’t able to come to agreement thus far on issues such as wage increases.   As a result, the ILA has announced that they will not extend the current contract past the expiration date leaving open the potential for an East and Gulf Coast strike on October 1, 2024.

With 7 months until the contract expires, it is expected that many importers into East Coast ports will pull forward their supply chains to ensure cargo arrives prior to a potential work stoppage.  Shippers may also choose to further diversify their trade lane and port selections to include more West Coast ports until the ILA and USMX sign a new contract.  It’s very important that shippers monitor the situation and begin to implement their risk based contingency plans to secure the allocations needed.

If you have any questions, please contact your local Noatum Logistics representative.