Port employers file labor complaint against dockworkers seeking to resume negotiations as strike looms
Produce importer Peter Kopke, Sr. discusses the impact of a looming port strike on The Bottom Line.
Employers at East and Gulf Coast ports on Thursday filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the dockworkers' union, accusing them of refusing to negotiate ahead of a threatened strike on Oct. 1.
The U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) said it filed the complaint against the union with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) over what it said was the union leadership's refusal to return to the bargaining table. If the group's request is granted, the union would be required to return to negotiations.
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and its 45,000 members are preparing for a potential strike that would impact 36 ports on the East and Gulf Coasts that collectively handle more than half of U.S. seaborne trade. Its current six-year contract expires on Monday, Sept. 30, raising the prospect of a strike beginning Tuesday.
«USMX has been clear that we value the work of the ILA and have great respect for its members,» USMX said in a statement announcing the filing of the NLRB charge. «We have a shared history of working together and are committed to bargaining.»
THE TAFT-HARTLEY ACT: WHY BIDEN COULD USE THIS LABOR LAW TO PREEMPT A PORT STRIKE
Port employers accused the ILA union of unfair labor practices and filed to force the union to return to negotiations. (Photographer: Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
«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
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