Need for building materials after Hurricane Sandy adds urgency to ILA talks

A DESPARATE need for building materials to repair Hurricane Sandy damage has made it vital that longshoremen and employers to "make every attempt at reaching agreement on a new contract" when talks open in Delray Beach, Florida.

This is the conclusion of 68 trade groups, which have written to union president Harold Daggett and to employers' group CEO James Capo, and told them to "stay at the negotiating table until a deal is reached even if this extends beyond the current deadline of December 29".

The petitioning group represents a wide range of industry associations, ranging from the National Retail Federation and the Agriculture Transportation Coalition to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) representing dockers on the US east and Gulf coasts and employers group, the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), are soon to resume talks towards drafting a new contract that expired September 30, reports American Shipper.

The two sides agreed to extend the current contract to December 29 and work with a mediator. But few meetings were held and they exchanged sharp words, with the USMX asking the ILA to engage in "serious" negotiations while the union complained employers were engaging in "misleading rhetoric and scare tactics".