Business, Feature, Freight News

ILA Votes to Ratify Six-year Contract with USMX

[ February 28, 2025   //   Gary G Burrows ]

Rank-and-file members of the International Longshoremen’s Association, or ILA, overwhelmingly agreed to ratify provisions of a new six-year master contract with U.S. Maritime Alliance, or USMX.
The ILA represents some 47,000 longshore workers at U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts ports, and nearly 99 percent of its members voted in favor of the new master contract agreement, retroactive from Oct. 1, 2024 through Sept. 30, 2030.
The ILA and USMX reached an agreement Jan. 8, a week before an imposed deadline of Jan. 15, which was a term of and Oct. 3 tentative agreement on earnings.
“We now have labor peace for the next six years,” said ILA President Harold Daggett who served as the union’s chief negotiator. “It was a tough contract to negotiate and even took a three-day coast-wide strike (Oct. 1-3). The ILA stayed strong and unified throughout and successfully won the greatest contract in ILA history and maybe the strongest Collective Bargaining Agreement ever negotiated by any union.
The ILA-USMX agreement includes a record 62 percent wage increase, full protections against automation, accelerated wage raises for new ILA workers, full container royalty funds returned to the ILA, raises in contributions to money purchase plans, a strengthened health care plan, MILA, and a resolution on vacation and holidays, as well as other benefits.
Daggett praised his USMX negotiating counterpart, Paul DeMaria, the lead negotiator for management, in helping to bring about a settlement.
“Thank goodness USMX made Paul DeMaria the lead negotiator for management’s side when they did,” Daggett said. “Paul was uniquely qualified to move negotiations in the right direction and his appointment to this new role was instrumental in avoiding a second strike.”
The ILA and USMX said they will formally sign the new six-year agreement on March 11.

Tags: International Longshoremen’s Association