The International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL‐CIO (ILA) and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced on Friday that they have resumed contract negotiations. The ILA and USMX have been discussing a contract extension since 2016. Talks broke down on December 6, 2017, over a dispute regarding automated terminals. The current labor contract, which covers all of the ports from Maine to Texas, expires in September 2018.

A joint statement from the ILA and USMX stated that the ILA had received assurances from USMX that issues and concerns regarding automation have been adequately addressed.

“USMX and the ILA want to keep cargo moving, and we are ready to put in the effort to get this job done to the satisfaction of employers and ILA dockworkers,” according to David F. Adam, USMX chairman and Harold J. Daggett, ILA president.

PPAI signed on to a letter with 75 other organizations encouraging the ILA and the USMX to return to the negotiating table. The organizations PPAI has partnered with on the letter represent manufacturers, farmers and agribusinesses, wholesalers, retailers, importers, exporters, distributors, transportation and logistics providers, and other supply chain stakeholders. In reaching out to the ILA and USMX, they noted that supply chain disruptions arising out of contract negotiations are well documented and that such disruptions can have enormous economic impacts.