East Coast/Gulf Coast Labor Contract Expiration Date is Nearing
The date when the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) contract expires (September 30th) is fast approaching, and so far no resolution has been struck. Automation and wage issues continue to be at the forefront of negotiations.
On August 22nd USMX was notified that the ILA filed a Notice to Mediation Agencies with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS) on August 19th. Thus, prompting the USMX to file their own notice on August 22nd, per a USMX statement. This essential means, the parties have informed the FMCS that they are in a dispute, and they do not represent an agreement for mediation.
In the USMX statement, they mention that they still have not been able to get a meeting with the ILA leadership to continue negotiations on a new master contract.
This week on Wednesday (September 4th) and Thursday (September 5th) the ILA will be conducting a “wage scale” meeting to review financial contract demands and to gather strike committees should a potential strike happen, Maritime-Executive reports.
Port of Portland Terminal 6 Updates
In April, the Port of Portland stated they would be closing Terminal 6 due to significant financial losses, lack of funding, and failure to find a permanent third-party operator. However in May, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek got involved and said the state would provide $40 million in funds to help keep the terminal open. Of course, there were some stipulations, including the port must submit a plan to the Governor on how they would remain financially viable.
The proposed funding for the terminal is pending approval by legislators in September and throughout the 2025 Legislative Season, Freightwaves reports.
In their proposal, the port hopes to have an agreement with a third-party operator to handle their container terminal by January next year, the JOC reports. They also said they have renegotiated a contract with T6’s outside manager Harbor Industrial Services and secured new terminal fees from ocean carriers.
The port also predicts that the terminal will handle 58,900 containers in its 2025 fiscal year. But are hopeful that their current volume of containers per year will go up to 120,000 annually by 2032, the JOC reports.