The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has joined numerous trade organizations to urge the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) to resume contract negotiations immediately and avoid another strike in January.
“It is imperative for the parties to resume negotiations and remain at the table until a new contract is reached," a 6 December open letter signed by more than 250 retail and trade groups, including NFI, stated.
The two parties are currently at odds over contract negotiations for ILA members who work in East and Gulf Coast ports. The USMX represents the port owners and employers. In October, a three day strike was quickly paused when USMX agreed to raise wages progressively over the life of the new contract.
When negotiations resumed in November, however, the ILA walked away from the negotiating table after a day and a half of talks, claiming there was no room to compromise on automation. With no agreement in place, strike activities are set to resume in mid-January.
The open letter, addressed to ILA President Harold Dagget and USMX CEO David Adam, asked the leaders to consider the many "supply chain stakeholders” who were hurt by the “continuous start and stop of negotiations" without any solutions.
“The three-day strike in October had a significant impact on supply chain stakeholders that rely on the East and Gulf Coast ports," the letter states. "The additional costs from mitigation efforts as well as post-strike resumption are still being felt. Companies have continued to implement mitigation strategies because of the ongoing threat of another strike in mid-January if a new contract is not achieved.”
NFI told SeafoodSource it joined the call for a resumption of negotiations because the strikes only make NFI's goal of feeding the population with fish more difficult.
“We’re focused on food and feeding Americans,” NFI Manager of Media and Communications Kayla Bennett told SeafoodSource. “Food inflation is a very real thing, and using the healthiest animal protein on the planet as a political football or a contract bargaining chip helps no one and hurts the most vulnerable of working families.”
“Talks of a port strike are already adding to challenges we see from unnecessary trade barriers like tariffs,” Bennett added.
Automation of port functions remains a sticking point in negotiations between the ILA and USMX.
The ILA has long argued that – whatever USMX says about hoping to maintain all ILA jobs – any automation will ultimately lead to union job loss in future contracts, and some studies of port sites that have automated do bear this pattern out. For its part, USMX holds that some automation is inevitable and necessary if East and Gulf Coast ports are to modernize enough to remain competitive in the global marketplace. The open letter sent by business leaders and trade groups suggests that many in the industry agree that automation is an important part of trade modernization. But, the trade organizations said, automation could be implemented in ways that were respectful to the union.
The open letter claims "there is a path forward" for the two sides to come to agreement on automation.
“It is critical that our ports and terminals have the ability to modernize their systems and processes in order to remain globally competitive and be able to handle the continuing rise of trade volumes, both imports and exports, through our ports," the letter states. "Modernization can only happen through true partnership between labor and management, as well as the other supply chain stakeholders that rely on these ports. Modernization efforts will benefit all parties and are essential to address current and future throughput issues.”
The ILA has held firm on its position. On 6 December, ILA Vice President Dennis A. Daggett published a lengthy statement to the official ILA Facebook page in which he maintained that “automation [in ports] means job losses, plain and simple. Suggesting otherwise is either ignorant or dishonest.”
“The ILA is not fighting against progress; we are fighting for a future where progress includes workers, their families, and the communities that depend on the maritime industry," he added.
If the two sides cannot agree to terms in the near future, a more devastating port strike in January is likely.
