WASHINGTON – A weekend update by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) stated that the union expects to go on strike when the current East and Gulf Coast contract runs out on Oct. 1.

“United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) refuses to address a half-century of wage subjugation,” the union said in a post on Sept. 29.

Last week, the US Maritime Alliance announced that it filed a complaint against the ILA for repeatedly refusing to come to the bargaining table during contract negotiations. ILA did not immediately respond to comments after the ILA’s announcement of a strike.

Wage issues remain a central sticking point for the USMX and ILA. Another key factor in negotiations toward a deal for ILA has been the role of automation, as more port services have been using it in recent years.

A joint coalition letter with more than 175 trade associations earlier in September called for President Joe Biden to step in and help the immediate resumption of negations but nothing has occurred.

On Sept. 27, two meat industry associations, the Meat Institute and the Meat Import Council of America (MICA), sent a letter to Daniel Maffei, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, expressing concerns that disruptions at the port had already begun, even before the contract between USMX and ILA ran out.

The current East Coast contract covers about 45,000 dock workers and 36 ports from Maine to Texas. This would be the first East Coast dock strike in the United States since 1977.