Port strike suspended until January as negotiations on new contract continue 

• The strike threatened to negatively impact an already strained U.S. economy where consumers have felt the burden of rising prices amid historically high inflation in recent years.

The union behind the port worker strike that started on October 1 agreed to suspend the walkout after a tentative deal was reached, extending the current contract until January 15, 2025, to allow for further negotiations.

Some 45,000 workers with the International Longshoremen’s Assocation are to report back to work immediately while the union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance continue talks.

“The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues,” ILA stated in a release on the agreement. “Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume.”

Primarily at issue for the union was the want for increased pay and the limiting of automation which they feared would reduce employment.

According to the Associated Press, “A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about 50% over six years to 62%. The person didn’t want to be identified because the agreement is tentative. Any wage increase would have to be approved by union members as part of the ratification of a final contract.”

The strike threatened to negatively impact an already strained U.S. economy where consumers have felt the burden of rising prices amid historically high inflation in recent years.

ILA’s union strike was forecast to have a $5 billion per day economic impact due to the anticipated cessation in shipping container trading, as previously reported. That impact was to be felt across 36 ports along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts.

Jon Naas, CEO and Executive Director of the Mississippi State Port Authority, told Magnolia Tribune late Thursday that he was glad to hear negotiations are moving forward.

“The Port of Gulfport has great respect for all the men and women that work at our port,” Naas said. “We hope that all the parties that are negotiating this contract come to a quick resolution that benefits both parties. We’re pleased to see that the national strike may be coming to an end.”

The White House applauded the agreement, with President Joe Biden (D) saying the tentative agreement on a record wage and an extension of the collective bargaining process represents critical progress towards a strong contract. 

“I congratulate the dockworkers from the ILA, who deserve a strong contract after sacrificing so much to keep our ports open during the pandemic,” Biden said in a statement. “And I applaud the port operators and carriers who are members of the US Maritime Alliance for working hard and putting a strong offer on the table.”

President Biden, a staunch supporter of labor unions, added, “Collective bargaining works, and it is critical to building a stronger economy from the middle out and the bottom up.”

Section 206 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, also referred to as the Taft-Hartley Act, gives a President the ability to seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period should companies and unions fail to resolve contract disputes. Yet, President Biden had said on record that he would not intervene in the strike.

However, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was prepared to act in the wake of his state’s recovery efforts related to Hurricane Helene. He shared on social media Thursday, “At my direction, the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard will be deployed to critical ports affected by the strike to maintain order and, where possible, resume operations.”

As reported by CBS News, DeSantis issued an executive order with additional steps to respond to “any disruptions” caused by the strike, including allowing the waiver of tolls and weight restrictions for trucks, as the state tries to maintain the flow of materials to areas recovering from Hurricane Helene.

“We need to accelerate. We have no time for delays,” DeSantis said Thursday during an appearance in Anna Maria, CBS News reported. “Biden-Harris has a responsibility to stand up for the storm victims, stand up for the people who’ve had their homes damaged or who’ve lost their homes and make sure they have what they need to get back on their feet.”

In his White House statement, President Biden mentioned the response to Hurricane Helene and the impact of the strike on recovery efforts.

“I want to thank the union workers, the carriers, and the port operators for acting patriotically to reopen our ports and ensure the availability of critical supplies for Hurricane Helene recovery and rebuilding,” Biden said.