2024-09-26 15:02:01
DETROIT (AP) — As the strike deadline approaches, groups representing U.S. East Coast and Gulf ports are asking federal agencies to bring the longshoremen union to the bargaining table to reach a new contract.
The American Maritime Alliance said it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), claiming the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) did not negotiate in good faith.
The league said in a statement prepared on Thursday that the charge was brought “because of the ILA’s repeated refusal to come to the table to negotiate a new master contract.”
The port requested immediate assistance, and the order requires the union to resume negotiations. It’s unclear how quickly the NLRB will be able to act on the request. A message was left seeking comment from the agency. The National Labor Relations Board is unlikely to rule on the complaint before Tuesday’s strike deadline, and with no negotiations scheduled, a strike appears likely.
The NLRB request comes four days before ILA’s six-year contract with the port expires, and the union representing 45,000 longshoremen from Maine to Texas warned it would meet at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday strike.
The two sides have not been negotiating since June, with the dispute centered around wages and a union proposal to ban further automation of cranes, gates and port trucks because it could lead to job losses.
A message seeking comment was also left with the union Thursday.
If a strike breaks out, it would be the ILA’s first nationwide shutdown since 1977.
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