Union, employers credit Trump for US port deal that could affect future negotiations By Reuters
By Lisa Baertlein and Daniel Wiessner
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An interim labor deal averted potentially damaging trade disruptions at three dozen U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports, with both sides in the talks crediting President-elect Donald Trump for clearing the way to find deal with automation.
The International Longshoremen’s success in winning Trump’s support to fight automation could be instructive for unions facing contract renewals during his tenure, including the United Auto Workers, UPS Teamsters and the US West Coast International Longshore & Warehouse Union.
The deal, announced Wednesday night, must be ratified by the roughly 45,000 members of the ILA and the United States Maritime Federation (USMX).
“This is a six-year détente in the tug-of-war between technology and operations at US ports,” said Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, a freight booking and payment platform.
It landed days before the extended Jan. 15 deadline, averting a second strike that could have left a major dent in the economy at the start of Trump’s second term on Jan. 20.
Father and son ILA leaders Harold and Dennis Daggett late Wednesday called Trump a hero of the union and gave him “full credit” for the deal.
They pointed to a Truth Social post in mid-December where Trump appeared to side with the union’s fight against “foreign” employers after meeting with those ILA leaders.
“I have studied automation and know almost everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved does not come close to the distress, injury and damage it causes to American workers, in this case our officials,” Trump wrote.
The employers’ group, which includes Maersk’s APM Terminals and the US arms of major container carriers such as China’s COSCO Shipping, said the deal was reached “in large part thanks to the leadership of President Trump”.
The ILA and USMX extended their deadline for negotiations after a standoff over automation sparked a three-day strike in October at major ports including New York and New Jersey, Houston and Savannah, Georgia.
President Joe Biden played a key role in helping workers win a 62% raise over six years, ending the strike in October.
Biden praised both the union and the employers for reaching a tentative agreement on Wednesday. Trump did not comment to Truth Social, and his transition team did not immediately comment.
One pro-labor attorney cautioned against interpreting Trump’s automation announcement as support for unions, saying it was consistent with his combative approach to international politics.
“It supports his story of hunting foreigners,” said Cathy Creighton, an attorney and director of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Buffalo.
SEE THE FUTURE?
In an anticipated move, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien – who negotiated the last contract for members Unified plot Service (NYSE: ) – first highlighted the union while speaking at the Republican National Convention, where he praised Trump’s toughness. The Teamsters also broke with tradition and did not endorse a US presidential candidate last year. The UPS contract expires in 2028, Trump’s last year in office.
Pro-union attorneys said Trump’s track record is not a union endorsement.
During his first term as president, Trump’s National Labor Relations Board appointees issued a series of rulings that were seen as favoring businesses and making it harder for unions to organize workers. The committee enforces workers’ rights to organize and join unions and investigate allegations that employers have engaged in illegal labor practices.
In December, Trump threatened to fire federal workers who do not return to the office for work. He also tasked Elon Musk, the world’s richest man with what the NLRB called unconstitutional, to cut the federal budget.
“I don’t think he’s going to support the labor movement,” attorney Creighton said of Trump. “He sought to undermine the labor movement.”
