As the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) begins strike action on the USA’s East Coast, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) joins the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) in redoubling its commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with the ILA dockers in their fight for a fair, just and safe master contract with ocean carriers.
In what is the first ILA strike since 1977, 36 ports on the East Coast will be hit by industrial action as the ILA seeks wage justice through a pay deal that keeps pace with inflation, and protections against the automation of cargo handling, particularly concerning the use of automated cranes.
“The ILA’s fight is our fight,” said Paddy Crumlin, ITF President and Dockers’ Section Chair, and MUA National Secretary, at the commencement of the MUA’s week-long National Council meetings in Sydney, Australia.
“The same companies that make up the employer association United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) are named as members of bogus industry associations across the globe, including in Australia where they pass themselves off as ‘Shipping Australia Limited’.
“Just as we have seen off the attacks by SAL on Australian maritime workers, the ILA will see this mob off too and continue to deliver fulfilling, rewarding and safe jobs for American dockworkers for generations to come.”
On Monday night, USMX made a last-minute offer to the 85,000-member ILA. The offer was rejected.
As the ILA strike action began in the Port of Philadelphia shortly after midnight on Tuesday, workers chanted, “No work without a fair contract”, while ILA messages on the sides of trucks carried the message, “Automation Hurts Families: ILA Stands for Job Protection.”
“Our commitment to the ILA is absolute – and that will never change,” said ITF General Secretary, Stephen Cotton. “Dockers worldwide face the same struggle: they want to be paid well for their hard work, they want to be safe at work, and they want to go home at the end of their shifts to the people who love them and know that there’s a secure job for them and the next generation doing this vital waterfront work.
“That is what the ILA is fighting for, and the ITF and its affiliated dockers’ unions all around the world back them in that fight the whole way.”
ITF Seafarers Section Chair, and President of the Seafarers International Union of North America, David Heindel, said: “Our brothers and sisters at the ILA have long stood side by side with American seafarers whenever we have faced our own struggles. So, we’re happy to stand in solidarity with them now in securing the deal they deserve, in honouring the action they are taking and refusing to cross any ILA picket lines.
“Whether it’s dockers, seafarers or any other transport workers – we keep the world moving and our economies ticking over, and we deserve our fair share.”
If strike action lasts for weeks, it is expected to significantly hit supply chains in the run-up to the holiday season and impact prices for US consumers. Immediate impacts are expected in the supply of imported perishable goods. The strike also has the potential to coincide with the US presidential election on November 5.
ITF Dockers Section Coordinator, Enrico Tortolano, said: “The ILA is crystal clear that it will go the distance in this struggle for wage justice, and the ITF will be right there with our ILA comrades.
“The USMX’s anti-worker tactics fool no one, and the ILA is serving dockers and workers everywhere by drawing a line in the sand and refusing to accept anything less than they deserve.
“As ILA President Harold Daggett says, ‘USMX owns this strike now’ – so let’s remember that before we hear the inevitable hypocrisy from industry that will put the blame on the ILA.
“The USMX can settle this right now. And if it doesn’t, any economic fallout from this strike is on the USMX.”
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