While negotiations on a new East Coast longshore contract remain at a standstill, online bettors aren’t convinced a January strike is inevitable.
Users of crypto predictions platform Polymarket on Thursday rated odds of a work stoppage at 43%, down from a high of 64% Nov. 13 but up 28% in intraday betting.
The International Longshoremen’s Association broke off talks with the United States Maritime Alliance Nov. 13 over what the union said were efforts by employers to replace workers by forcing automation technology into a new contract. USMX countered that its goal wasn’t to reduce the workforce but to make container handling more efficient and increase throughput – and create more jobs in the process.
After Biden administration officials helped broker an end to the ILA’s three-day strike in early October, the sides agreed to extend the current contract and resume negotiations through Jan. 15.
The ILA represents 45,000 workers in container and vehicle handling at 36 maritime centers on the East and Gulf coasts. The October job action imperiled billions of dollars in daily trade ranging from food and pharmaceuticals to apparel and auto parts.
The union in a statement Monday for the first time zeroed in on rail-mounted gantry cranes as the source of its automation anxiety. The ILA added that remote-operated cranes like those now in use at ports in Asia and Europe present a security risk to U.S. maritime operations — echoing a recent warning issued to container hubs by the Coast Guard.
While President Joe Biden refused to force longshore employees back to work, it’s far from clear what approach the incoming Trump administration will take in the event of another strike.
One clue: ILA President Harold Daggett recently posted a photo of himself with a smiling Donald Trump taken during a meeting with the then-presidential candidate.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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