Longshoremen strike ends with “tentative agreement”

First published on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 in the Dundalk Eagle.

The gates to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk are no longer filled with striking longshoremen. A few trucks could be seen entering the complex.

The International Longshoremen’s Association, which has been on strike since Tuesday at midnight, has reached a “tentative” agreement on wages for the workers who load and unload ships, the union and the United States Maritime Alliance announced in a joint statement on Thursday evening.

The union was striking at 36 ports from Maine to Texas, the Associated Press reported, including the Port of Baltimore. The International Longshoremen’s Association agreed to extend the current contract until Jan. 15. That means workers’ wages will remain until January, the Associated Press reported.

The exact details of the contract are still being negotiated. In the joint statement, the union and the Maritime Alliance group wrote that “all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume.”

One longshoremen, who requested anonymity because the contract details were not finalized yet, said they will get a $6 pay raise, taking them from $20 per hour to $26 per hour after two years of work at the port. 

In a text on Monday, International Longshoremen’s Association Local 333 President Scott Cowan said the two sides were still negotiating automation but agreed to raise wages:

• Year 1: $6 pay raise
• Year 2: $5 pay raise
• Year 3: $4 pay raise
• Year 3-6: $3 pay raise

These are the pay raises in the master contract, which covers all workers represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association. Cowan represents workers at the Port of Baltimore and negotiates another local contract.

He said negotiations for the local contract were “almost wrapped up.”

The pay structure for longshoremen is complex: While they are paid by the hour, Cowan said on Wednesday, their pay depends on what type of cargo they are handling.

The longshoremen are not guaranteed a certain number of hours of work, they are assigned work in order of seniority. That means the longshoremen who have worked the longest get first dibs on each job, the longshoreman who requested anonymity said.

“A lot of us lower cards struggle to get work,” they said. “It’s like playing the lottery.”

In a statement, President Joe Biden praised the two sides for coming to an agreement.

“I congratulate the dockworkers from the ILA, who deserve a strong contract after sacrificing so much to keep our ports open during the pandemic,” he wrote. “And I applaud the port operators and carriers who are members of the US Maritime Alliance for working hard and putting a strong offer on the table.”

Still, the longshoremen expressed frustration at the public’s reaction to the strike.

“Everyone says that we start at $39 an hour, and that’s not true,” they said. “You have to work your way up to that.”

The longshoreman said they live paycheck to paycheck, never sure how much money they will have. But they said they were grateful for the new contract.

“I’m happy as long as there’s no automation,” they told the Eagle.