News
International Longshoremen's Association （ILA） considers that contract negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance （USMX） on the issue of container royalties will determine whether the ILA carriers through on its threat of a year-end strike.
ILA represents 65,000 longshoremen on the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada.
In the talks with the management which was resumed last week ILA President Harold Daggett accused USMX of ''misleading rhetoric and scare tactics'' and said payments to workers from container royalty funds should be called wage supplements, not bonuses.
His comment is a response to USMX's allegation that Container Royalty is ''another form of compensation for ILA workers who are among the nation's most highly compensated.'' The management intends to place a cap on Container Royalty.
The container royalties were established in 1960 as a way to protect ILA members from job losses created by containerization and its introduction of automated cargo.
In the coming negotiations, a cap on Container Royalty will be one of the key battles facing ILA and USMX.
