ILA Strike Watch 2025: Trump Supports ILA in Automation Fight
We have less than a month before the East and Gulf Coast ports could shut down from another International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike. The deadline for a new master contract to be negotiated is January 15th, but the ILA broke off negotiations over the issue of automation. President Trump, who will be inaugurated to return to office five days after the deadline, publicly announced his support for the ILA in its fight against automation.
After a meeting with ILA’s president and vice president Thursday of last week, President Trump posted his support on Truth Social:
Just finished a meeting with the International Longshoremen’s Association and its President, Harold Daggett, and Executive VP, Dennis Daggett. There has been a lot of discussion having to do with “automation” on United States docks. I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen. Foreign companies have made a fortune in the U.S. by giving them access to our markets. They shouldn’t be looking for every last penny knowing how many families are hurt. They’ve got record profits, and I’d rather these foreign companies spend it on the great men and women on our docks, than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced. In the end, there’s no gain for them, and I hope that they will understand how important an issue this is for me. For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American Workers, instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries. It is time to put AMERICA FIRST!
Presidential support is a powerful thing. President Biden’s support for the union in the negotiation and strike process demonstrated this. When the ILA went on strike after the original deadline of September 30th came and went without a new deal, the Biden/Harris Administration publicly supported the ILA, using union-sounding rhetoric in its public statements. Then, the fight was centered on wages, and the Biden/Harris Administration put serious pressure on the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) to agree to a 62% wage increase tentative deal when the USMX had been holding strong at its latest offer of 50%.
That ended the strike after three days.
The Debate & Presidential Influence
I was critical of the Biden/Harris Administration siding so heavily with the ILA, seemingly just repeating the union’s rhetoric on wages, during the strike. Frankly, President Trump’s “statement” on Truth Social isn’t much different as he shows support for the union on the automation front. Again, I’m not a fan of so fervently siding with the union (nor would I want to see full support behind the USMX).
There does need to be some compromise on the issue of automation. U.S. ports are lagging behind major ports around the world in terms of efficiency, in large part because of the unions’ (both the ILA and ILWU) fight against automation. That played an enormous role in the “supply chain crisis” when we saw a shipping boom after the pandemic hit. The ports simply couldn’t handle the sustained, high volume of cargo.
A certain amount of new technology and semi-automation is needed at the ports. However, it makes sense that the unions fight automation.
The very idea of automation is converting work processes into automatic ones, which can be done by machines faster, safer, and more efficiently than by people. How could unions not see that as an existential threat, taking jobs away from their members? Even if the unions accept that some automation, allowing more efficiency, could create more work for dockworkers by increasing the volume of cargo the ports are able to handle, the fear is that accepting semi-automation will inevitably eventually lead to full automation.
President Trump throwing his weight fully behind the ILA caused the USMX to respond quickly, laying out its side of the debate in a statement on the negotiations update page of its website:
“We appreciate and value President-elect Trump’s statement on the importance of American ports. It’s clear President-elect Trump, USMX, and the ILA all share the goal of protecting and adding good-paying American jobs at our ports. But this contract goes beyond our ports – it is about supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace – from farmers, to manufacturers, to small businesses, and innovative start-ups looking for new markets to sell their products.
[“]To achieve this, we need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains. ILA members’ compensation increases with the more goods they move – the greater capacity our ports have and goods that are moved means more money in their pockets.“We look forward to working with the President elect and the incoming administration on how our members are working to support the strength and resilience of the U.S. supply chain and making crucial investments that support ILA members and millions of workers and businesses across the entire domestic supply chain, improving efficiency and creating even more high-paying jobs for ILA members.”
Will the Current President Please Stand Up
While so much focus is on the next president, it’s important not to forget that the next strike looks likely to happen while the current president is still in office. Like during the lead-up to the last strike, the Biden/Harris Administration is very quiet on the situation now. I was critical of President Biden and his administration for seemingly making no effort to stop the strike from happening on October 1st. Despite not liking the administration’s siding with the ILA when the strike happened, I was happy that the Biden/Harris Administration at least managed to end the strike fairly quickly with heavy pressure on the USMX.
However, it felt like the administration really just kicked the problem down the road to after the election. I worry that the Biden/Harris Administration is again doing nothing to prevent a strike from the ILA, and this one could end up longer than the first.
Without the pressure of an ILA strike damaging the Democrat Party in an election, there is less pressure for the Biden/Harris Administration to put an end to the strike quickly. The administration may simply decide to leave the problem for President Trump and his administration. The next strike could be on its fifth day when President Trump is being inaugurated.
At Least the Next President Is Doing Something
Despite my not liking him taking a side so strongly in the negotiations, I do like that President Trump is at least being proactive by meeting with the ILA’s leadership and making statements about the situation before a strike happens. The ILA certainly appreciates the proactive support President Trump has given the union. ILA’s president and vice president’s words about President Trump’s support are absolutely glowing:
“Throughout my career, I’ve never seen a Politician– let alone the President of the United States – truly understand the importance of the work our members do every single day. But yesterday, President-elect Trump not only demonstrated that understanding but also showed the utmost respect for the hard work, sacrifices, and dedication of our membership,” Vice President Dennis Daggett said.
ILA President Harold Daggett said, “By his words and his actions, President-elect Trump is demonstrating strong support and a commitment to help ILA longshore workers. I can’t believe how he’s coming out for us. I hope USMX is observing.”
The USMX is clearly observing. While the ILA is the party that has so often refused to go to the negotiation table through this situation, perhaps Trump’s added pressure on the USMX will help a deal get done before another strike happens. Maybe the added leverage will cause the ILA to return to talks. My biggest hope in this whole thing is we avoid another strike that shuts down East and Gulf Coast Ports, disrupting U.S. supply chains.
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