President Trump “Key” to Landmark Contract Agreement Avoiding ILA Strike
International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) President Harold Daggett credited President Trump as “key to the union negotiating [Wednesday’s] landmark agreement” that prevented a second ILA strike from shutting down East and Gulf Coast ports.
Shippers were able to let out a sigh of relief last week when the ILA and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced they’d reached a tentative agreement that prevented a supply-chain-disrupting and economically-damaging strike from happening this week.
In a Facebook post, the ILA called the tentative agreement not only a landmark one but “the greatest Collective Bargaining Agreement in the union’s 132-year history.” The details of the contract have not been formally released, but it’s hard to argue with the statement of this being the best contract from the union’s point of view as the ILA points out that it includes “62 percent wage increase, iron-clad protections against automation and semi-automation at ILA ports, and a stronger healthcare and retirement package, among many gains.”
Additionally, ILA’s post attributes President Daggett with saying ILA members “will receive significant increases in wages retroactive to October 1, 2024” once they’ve ratified the new contract.
However, the most interesting tidbit from President Daggett was probably crediting President-Elect Trump as “key” to the ILA negotiating the contract. Universal Cargo CEO Devin Burke called it the “Trump Effect” when I told him the breaking news of the deal last week. That was before the ILA’s president credited Trump, but it was after the former and next president of the United States met with the ILA and publicly announced his support for the union.
In December, President Trump held a two-hour meeting with ILA President Harold Daggett and ILA Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett. After the meeting, President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post:
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.
Frankly, the public support President Trump showed for the union wasn’t that different from the kinds of words President Biden and his administration previously used in showing public support to the ILA. The biggest difference was President Trump met with the union and made his statement before a strike was to happen. President Biden didn’t address the issue until after the union went on strike. In fact, he was deafeningly silent on the topic before the union went on strike and shut down East and Gulf Coast ports on October 1st, despite shippers pleading with the administration to act in order to prevent it.
Trump’s proactive moves on the situation went beyond meeting with the union leaders at Mar-a-Lago and taking to social media. Reportedly, he also directly contacted USMX leaders too. It seemed he made sure his second term in the Oval Office wasn’t going to start with the economic damage of port shutdowns.
It’s possible the increase in port jobs and dockworker pay that has been negotiated may increase import and export costs for shippers through the East and Gulf ports, but the expensive and possibly devastating cargo delays and supply chain disruption of another ILA strike is averted. While there may be mixed results for shippers, the results of contract negotiations appear to be a big win for the union.
Meanwhile, it’s not all bad news for the USMX. New technology, which should include some automation elements, to update the ports will also be allowed by the deal. It just seems that new technology needs to be built around new jobs. The USMX did express concern about that last week, indicating the new deal could be creating new jobs for the sake of new jobs rather than out of any kind of economic need and added the additional costs between those jobs and the wage hikes could be inflationary.
As long as there isn’t a problem ratifying the new contract, and no such problem is expected, this should mark the end of the ILA Strike Watch 2024/25! But for one last time, the saga of posts on the topic is below in case you want to revisit the drama around contract negotiations, strike, and port shutdowns from the last two years.
ILA Strike & Strike Watch Posts
ILA Already Threatening Strike
ILA Stance Is Worse Than Just Threatening Strike
We Have to Talk About the ILA Strike Threat
How to Prepare for Potential ILA Port Disruption
No One Knows What Will Happen with ILA Port Disruption
Early Peak Season, High Freight Rates, & 5 Factors Shaping Ocean Freight Shipping 2024
ILA Strike Watch 2024: Cancelled Talks & Strike Threat Increase
Are There Any Signs the Early Peak Season Is Slowing Down?
ILA Strike Watch 2024 – US Trade Groups Ask Biden to Get ILA to Negotiation Table
ILA Strike Watch 2024: Biden No, Trump Yes?
ILA Strike Watch 2024: ILA Says Strike More Likely
ILA Strike Watch 2024: Union Rejects Wage Offer & Prepares to Strike
ILA Strike Watch 2024: With 1 Month Till Strike, ILA Flips on Mediation
ILA Strike Watch 2024: ILA Announces Unanimous Support for Strike
ILA Strike Watch 2024: Will White House Stop Strike?
ILA Strike Watch 2024: Biden Won’t Stop Strike
Shipper Alert – ILA Strike Is On!
ILA Strike – Biden Plays Union Politics Instead of Protecting U.S. Economy
ILA Strike – Secretary of Labor’s Unbelievable Statement About Negotiations
Shipper Alert – ILA Strike Ends!
ILA Strike Aftermath – It’s Not Over Yet & Wage Agreement May Become Problem
ILA Strike Watch 2025: ILA’s October Strike to Affect Global Supply Chains thru Mid-November
ILA Strike Watch 2025: ILA USMX to Resume Talks in November
Here We go Again – ILA Stops Contract Talks – ILA Strike Watch 2025
ILA Strike Watch 2025: “ILA members are ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to win this battle”
ILA Strike Watch 2025: Trump Supports ILA in Automation Fight
