Move ends months of uncertainty at US East and Gulf Coast ports
Disruption at US East and Gulf Coast ports has been averted until 2030 after the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) ratified a new six-year contract that includes a 62 per cent wage increase over the life of the agreement.
The other major port workers’ union, the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), has already approved the contract.
The decision ends months of uncertainty among shippers already having to contend with Red Sea disruption and Trump’s threat of tariffs.
The new contract, which will be in effect from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2030, raises the hourly base rate for workers to from US$39 to US$63, making longshoremen among the highest paid blue-collar workers in the country.
ILA president Harold Daggett commented: “We now have labour peace for the next six years. Our collective strength helped produce the richest contract in our history”.
The 36 affected ports include some of the busiest in the US, such as the port of New York and New Jersey, which together take more than half of the country’s imports.
