On Tuesday, the International Longshoremen’s Association ratified a six-year contract for its 45,000 dockworker members working along the East and Gulf Coasts.
Union members represent the major ports along the Atlantic Ocean, which account for 45% of all imports into the U.S. The ports are not known for their efficiency, which prompted a hesitance to raise salaries and resulted in a three-day strike. As they handle anywhere between $500 million to $4 billion worth of goods each day, the brief strike was still costly and resulted in a shortage of bananas and other fruits.
This newly-ratified contract, approved by a 99% vote, outlines an agreement for a 62% wage increase from $39 an hour to $63. With this raise, ILA members become the highest-paid blue-collar workers in the country. The contract also includes a stronger healthcare plan, protects members’ jobs from automation, and calls for larger retirement contributions from employers. United States Maritime Alliance and ILA will sign the agreement on Mar. 11.
“Congratulations to the U.S. Dockworkers on your great new deal,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday. “Also, thank you for your overwhelming support in the Presidential Election. Slowing down automation, just a little bit, is an OK thing to do!!! DJT.”
Trump was referencing the three-day strike against USMX in October. It was the ILA’s first strike since 1977.
“We now have labor peace for the next six years,” ILA President Harold Daggett said after the contract was ratified.
Daggett previously thanked Trump for his “unwavering support” and told him “you have proven yourself to be one of the best friends of working men and women in the United States.”
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This comes on the heels of an election year in which the largest union in the nation, the Teamsters, opted not to endorse either candidate for president after a long tradition of endorsing the Democratic candidate, which the Trump campaign counted as a win for their side at the time. A member poll had 58% in favor of endorsing Trump versus 31% for then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump has continued to build support from union leadership since the election. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien was on Capitol Hill last week stumping for Trump’s Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who has sat for her committee hearing but has yet to be officially nominated by the Senate. Chavez-DeRemer created a pro-union reputation while serving in the House of Representatives and had nearly a dozen unions endorse her before her loss in November.