December 5, 2024 – After promising not to negotiate their new master contract in the media, the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance issued statements arguing their positions on semi-automation technology for U.S. ports along the East and Gulf Coast. The ILA said the talks are at “a crossroads with ocean carriers and employers,” reporting an impasse over the use of semi-automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs). After four scheduled days of negotiations, the ILA contends that USMX introduced new semi-automation mid-way through the talks, “causing the talks to break down.”

“USMX-ILA negotiations ended when management introduced their intent to implement semi-automation – a direct contradiction to their opening statement where they assured the ILA that neither full nor semi-automation would be on the table,” said ILA President Harold Daggett. He said the stalemate over automation and semi-automation threatens to cause another strike in less than six weeks. USMX responded saying it is not seeking to eliminate jobs but that U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports need to be made more efficient. They point out that most of the ports lack land to expand, saying that to meet demand and handle more volume the only way is “to densify terminals – enable the movement of more cargo through their existing footprint.”