East, Gulf Coast U.S. port strike averted for 90 days
The U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) has said in a statement today that negotiations between a port employers' organisation and a union representing longshoremen on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts have been extended by 90 days, averting a potential strike, Ship & Bunker reports.
After a day of negotiations between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance that were described as "productive" having made progress on "several important subjects," the parties agreed to extend the collective bargaining agreement due to expire on September 30, 2012 through December 29, 2012.
"In taking this significant step, the parties emphasized that they are doing so 'for the good of the country' to avoid any interruption in interstate commerce," said FMCS Director George H. Cohen.
According to the statement, the extension will provide the parties an opportunity to focus on the outstanding core issues without the pressure of an immediate deadline.
FMCS said that due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations, no further comment will be made on the schedule for the negotiations, their location, or the substance of what takes place during those negotiations.
The ILA says in total it represents over 65,000 longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico, and Eastern Canada.
It is currently renegotiating a master contract covering some 14,500 jobs that were said to have handled 95 percent of container shipments in 2011 in an area running from Maine to Texas.
The ILA says its members, who do dangerous work in difficult conditions, need protection from automation that threatens their jobs, but the U.S. Maritime Alliance argues longshoremen are well paid, with an average package of $124,000 a year in wages and benefits, and that they are taking advantage of overtime rules.
The group threatened to strike as the industry gears up for increased volume for the holiday season.