ILA Longshoreman’s Union Strike Projected after Jan 15.
In October the Associated Press reported that the ILA union and USMX reached a partial agreement which suspended the strike in October and would give them till January 15, 2025 to come to an agreement on a new 6-year contract.
Click HERE to read the full AP news story.
In November the ILA walked away from negotiations stating they would not return unless automations at a gulf coast port, in violation of the existing contract, were rectified.
75 days have passed and no progress has been announced.
Since a new contract has yet to be accepted, a new deadline has been set. Union leaders continue to indicate their plan is to strike after Jan 15 if they do not receive concessions from USMX. Given the change of federal government administrations on Jan 20th it is unlikely that a strike would be halted by the outgoing administration and also possible that a strike would not be the first order of business for the new administration. This could result in a strike of 2 weeks unless a contract is agreed upon or the government steps in to force union labor back to work.
Shippers may want to plan alternative routings to avoid delays in January if the parties do not come to an agreement before then. Transit time to the EU via US West Coast ports is approximately 3 weeks longer than routings over the US East Coast. This means shippers trying to make consistent deliveries may need to begin diverting cargo in December and with holiday delays transit times can be expected to take longer than published schedules.
