As we move into 2025 and the Trump Administration prepares to take control of the government, marine terminal operators are anxiously and optimistically awaiting resolution of the labor disputes between terminal operator management, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), and the 45,000 union dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, represented by the International Labor Association (ILA). A key remaining battleground in the labor disputes – aside from pay and benefit issues, which appear to be largely resolved by a 62 percent wage increase after a three-day strike on Oct. 3, 2024 – is the ILA’s demand to remove any language on automation or semi-automation from the collective bargaining agreement, with the objective of preserving good-paying union jobs for dockworkers. From the USMX point of view, automation is necessary to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity and strengthen supply chains. The automation issue threatens to put U.S. ports at a competitive disadvantage when seeking to attract cargo and also has the potential to stave off investment in ports.
A second issue to watch in the first…
