The International Longshoremen‘s Association (ILA) and the Maritime Alliance clinched a deal in federally mediated talks less than two days before a strike deadline set by the union to coincide with expiration of the contract on Sunday.
The threatened walkout would have brought container cargo operations to a halt at 15 ports along the Eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast, marking the first such work stoppage in 35 years. Friday’s announcement came hours after the White House urged the parties to settle their dispute.
Under Friday‘s deal, the two sides agreed to extend the terms of their expiring labor pact for 30 more days while negotiators finalize details of their settlement, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service said in a statement.
The breakthrough came as the parties agreed “in principle” on the contentious issue of “container royalties,” or bonus payments earned by ILA dockworkers based on the tonnage of cargo moved through their respective ports.
The new contract does not eliminate the royalty payments, as the shippers had demanded, according to Benny Holland, an executive vice president for the ILA. “The royalty will stay intact. We have worked out a formula for it,” he said in an interview. He did not elaborate and the shippers declined to comment. No further details were disclosed in the government’s statement.
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reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com