Union dockworkers, port employers announce tentative deal at East Coast and Gulf ports

After a contentious negotiation, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) on Wednesday announced a tentative deal on a new six-year master contract.

The deadline to reach an agreement was Jan. 15.

According to the ILA, full wage scale meetings will be called to review the deal followed by a ratification vote. No date was given on the full wage scale meeting. Details on when the USMX membership would vote were not available at press time.

The tentative agreement is on all items for a new six-year master contract. The two sides agreed to continue to operate under the current contract until both sides schedule a ratification vote

“We are pleased to announce that ILA and USMX have reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year ILA-USMX Master Contract, subject to ratification, thus averting any work stoppage on January 15, 2025,” the two sides said in a joint statement. “This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coasts ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong.

“This is a win-win agreement that creates ILA jobs, supports American consumers and businesses, and keeps the American economy the key hub of the global marketplace.”

CNBC was told details of the new tentative agreement would not be released to allow both the ILA rank-and-file-members and USMX members to review and approve the final document.