January 8, 2025 – A secret meeting between representatives of the International Longshoremen’s Association and the USMX port ownership group was held on Sunday to make headway on the issue of port automation that needs to be resolved by January 15 to avoid a new U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports strike. A document produced from the meeting indicates that ports are willing to pair any new technology with new union jobs, but that could introduce new risks to a deal, with added labour costs threatening terms agreed to in October for a 62% pay hike for union workers. Formal talks were set to resume on Tuesday, and it remains unclear if the full port ownership group will support the new language on automation.