BREAKING: Longshoremen Call Off Economy 'Crippling' Strike Until Jan. 15th
By stopping the strike until January 15th, it opens the door for lame-duck Biden to use Taft-Hartley right before leaving office.
By Peter List, Editor | Oct. 3, 2024
A mere three days after launching a strike that could cripple the U.S. economy, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has called off the strike at all 36 East and Gulf Coasts ports until January 15, 2025.
“The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. [USMX] 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,” the union stated on its website. “Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume.”
As the ILA and USMX have agreed on one of the key issues, wages, the other issue of the dispute is automation.
Although the ILA wants a “total ban” on automation, USMX had previously offered to leave the restrictions contained in the now-expired contract in place.
It is unknown how far apart the parties still are.
The cessation of the strike until January 15th means there is potential for another strike well after the November elections and right before the next president’s inauguration.
This means that, if the ILA and USMX cannot agree by January 15th and the ILA decides to strike again, President Joe Biden—who had refused to invoke a Taft-Hartley cooling-off period for fear of losing union support before the elections—can do so before leaving office.
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