Deadline Looming for East Coast Port Contract
A Feb. 6 deadline is looming for longshore workers and shipping lines to conclude talks on a new contract at 15 East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.
Neither side involved in the negotiations would talk about whether they were close to wrapping up talks.
But on Jan. 17, the two sides noted they made progress during meetings held Jan. 15–17 and will continue to negotiate on a contract that affects 14,500 workers. Currently, the average port worker earns about $124,000 a year in wages and benefits.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service averted a strike late last year by getting the two sides back to the bargaining table and extending talks on a new contract until midnight on Feb. 6, setting up a possible strike on Feb. 7.
“The only thing I can say is that mediation is ongoing and the talks have been extended to Feb. 6,” said John Arnold, FMSC’s spokesman.
Calls to the International Longshoremen’s Association in North Bergen, N.J., were not returned.
Beth Monica, corporate secretary for the United States Maritime Alliance in Iselin, N.J.—which represents shipping lines, port associations and terminal operators from Maine to Texas—wrote in an email that she could not answer any questions regarding the negotiations.
Because strike actions have been threatened at East Coast ports, many shippers have decided to divert their cargo to the West Coast and then send it to the East Coast by truck or rail.
During the December negotiations, talks bogged down over a container royalty provision, which is a payout instituted in the 1960s when freight began being transported in cargo containers. The longshore union thought containerization would lead to fewer jobs on the waterfront, which it has.
The container royalty provision provides payouts to union workers based on increases in freight cargo-container volumes. Currently, payouts average about $15,500 a year to each union worker, according to port operators.
The U.S. Maritime Alliance had wanted to cap container royalty payouts. But the ILA said the payments are an important supplemental wage, not a bonus, for the workers, who on average earn about $50 an hour.
In December, an agreement was reached on the container royalty provision. — Deborah Belgum
