After three days on strike, union dock workers at Atlantic and Gulf coast ports returned to work with a new wage agreement that will raise pay 61.5% over the next six years. That was still short of the 77% International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) had pushed for at one point, but it was a big increase over the previous 50% offer by the employer group Maritime Alliance, the offer members had rejected when they struck. Under the new contract, wages will rise $4 an hour each year, and by the end of the contract, ILA members will earn slightly more than their West Coast counterparts in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). At that point the top wage for an ILA dockworker will be $63 an hour, up from $39 currently.
But wages are only part of the collective bargaining agreement, and ILA still has disagreements with the Maritime Alliance over automation that threatens members’ jobs. The strike ended with the two sides agreeing to extend their previous contract, which expired Sept. 30, through Jan. 15. That gave them 100 days to work out the remaining issues.
The Oct. 1-3 strike was the first time ILA dockworkers walked out since 1977. That strike lasted seven weeks.
