Trump backs dock workers in port automation debate, reform team to meet with USMX
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President-elect Trump voiced his support for a push by seafarers against automation at US ports this week, and his transition team will meet with representatives of port employers amid threats of another strike unless a deal is reached before he returns. the White House.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the union that represents the 45,000 dock workers who went on strike in October, and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents dock employers, agreed when the strike ended to extend their contract until Jan. 15 – five days before Trump’s inauguration.
Workers strike at the Bayport Container Terminal in Seabrook, Texas, on October 1, 2024. Ports on the US East and Gulf Coasts were closed in October after the ILA and USMX failed to reach a contract agreement. (MAKA FELIX/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The two sides had agreed on a pay raise for workers, but negotiations broke out in November over an ongoing dispute over automation at the ports, which the union says is jeopardizing union jobs. USMX says automation will improve safety and efficiency.
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Trump said on his Truth Social platform Thursday that he had met with ILA President Harold Daggett and Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett, and said he was on the union’s side when it came to automation.
Harold J. Daggett, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association speaks as shipping workers at Maher Terminals in Port Newark go on strike on October 1, 2024 in New Jersey. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Money saved [from automation] nowhere near the stress, pain, and injury it causes to American workers, in this case, our Longshoremen,” Trump wrote. “Foreign companies have made fortunes in the US by giving them access to our markets. They don’t have to look at every last penny and know how many families have been hurt. “
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“They have record profits, and I prefer these foreign companies to use them for great men and women in our ports, rather than expensive machines, which will have to be changed regularly,” continued the president-elect. .
Then-Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks to visitors during a campaign stop at Drake Enterprises, an auto parts manufacturing company, on September 27, 2023 in Clinton Township, Michigan. (Photos by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“In the end, nothing is in their interest, and I hope they will understand how important this story is to me,” he added. “In order for us to have greater access to our markets, these foreign companies should hire our wonderful American Workers, instead of laying them off, and repatriate those profits.”
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In response to Trump’s post, USMX released a statement saying they appreciate and value the president-elect’s statement on the importance of America’s ports, and said it is clear that he, USMX and the ILA “all share the goal of protecting and adding good-paying American jobs to our ports.”
“But this contract goes beyond our ports – it’s about supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global market – from farmers, producers, small businesses, and new startups looking for new markets to sell their products,” the statement read.
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“To achieve this, we need modern technology that has been proven to improve worker safety, increase port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains. The compensation of ILA members increases as they move more goods – the greater the capacity of our ports and the more goods they move means money more in their pockets.”
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USMX added, “We look forward to working with the President-elect and the incoming administration on how our members are working to support the strength and resilience of the US supply chain and to making significant investments that support ILA members and millions of workers and businesses. across the domestic supply chain, improving performance well as creating high-paying jobs for ILA members.”
A source tells FOX Business that USMX has a meeting set up with Trump’s transition team, but did not disclose when it is scheduled.
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