USMX seeks NLRB intervention as port strike looms

With a threatened Maine to Texas port strike on October 1 getting ever nearer, the employers organization, the United States Marine Alliance (USMX), today filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking an order to require the ILA union to resume bargaining.

“USMX has been clear that we value the work of the ILA and have great respect for its members,” said USMX in a statement released today. “We have a shared history of working together and are committed to bargaining.

“Due to the ILA’s repeated refusal to come to the table and bargain on a new Master Contract, USMX filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and requested immediate injunctive relief – requiring the union to resume bargaining – so that we can negotiate a deal.”

The filing with the NLRB initiates a process outlined HERE

In its most recent statement, released September 23, the ILA said that “despite engaging in a misleading publicity campaign with claims that the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) refused to negotiate with United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), the two sides have communicated multiple times in recent weeks. The stalemate remains in Master Contract negotiations because USMX continues to offer ILA longshore workers an unacceptable wage increase package.”

“USMX knows what our bottom line with wages needs to be for our ILA rank-and-file to ratify a new Master Contract Agreement,” said Harold J. Daggett, the ILA’s international president and chief negotiator. “They call me several times each week trying to get the ILA to accept a low-ball wage package. My ILA members are not going to accept these insulting offers that are a joke considering the work my ILA longshore workers perform, and the billion dollar profits the companies make off the backs of their labor.

“The blame for a coast wide strike in a week that will shut down all ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts falls squarely on the shoulders of USMX,” added the ILA leader.

The ILA also said that it refutes USMX claims that the union’s wage demands amounts to a better than 75% increase over the life of a possible six-year agreement.

“Deceiving the public with misleading calculations is not going to help get an agreement with the ILA,” said Daggett. “Even a $5.00 an hour increase in wages for each year of a six-year agreement, only amounts to an average annual increase of approximately 9.98%

“My ILA rank-and file membership are just as good in math as any of the companies,” Daggett continued. “They are well aware of the profits made by the companies they work for and are even more motivated to hit the streets on October 1st if they don’t get the kind of wage increases, they firmly believe they deserve.”