Maritime Union of Australia
National Council
2 October 2024
Media Release
Australian maritime workers declare steadfast solidarity with International Longshoremen’s Association
On the first day of its National Council meetings in Sydney, which bring together representatives of Australian maritime workers from across Australia, the Maritime Union of Australia (the MUA) has resolved to back in the North American International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) all the way in their fight for a fair, just and safe master contract with ocean carriers on the East Coast of the United States.
In what is the first ILA strike since 1977, 36 ports on the East Coast will be hit by industrial action as the ILA seeks wage justice through a pay deal that keeps pace with inflation, and protections against the automation of cargo handling, particularly concerning the use of automated cranes.
“The ILA’s fight is the MUA's fight,” said Paddy Crumlin, ITF President and Dockers’ Section Chair, and MUA National Secretary, at the commencement of the MUA’s week-long National Council meetings in Sydney, Australia. “The MUA, including all Australian wharfies and seafarers, redoubles its commitment to our comrades in the ILA as the dockers they represent stare down the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), an industry association bargaining on behalf of American and global shipping and stevedoring companies that routinely rob and kill workers around the globe through abuse, neglect and mistreatment,” Crumlin said.
“The same companies that make up the employer association United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) are named as members of bogus industry associations across the globe, including in Australia where they pass themselves off as ‘Shipping Australia Limited’.
“Just as we have seen off the attacks by SAL on Australian maritime workers, the ILA will see this mob off too and continue to deliver fulfilling, rewarding and safe jobs for American dockworkers for generations to come.”
On Monday night, USMX made a last-minute offer to the 85,000-member ILA. The offer was rejected.
As the ILA strike action began in the Port of Philadelphia shortly after midnight on Tuesday, workers chanted, “No work without a fair contract”, while ILA messages on the sides of trucks carried the message, “Automation Hurts Families: ILA Stands for Job Protection.”
“Our commitment to the ILA is absolute – and that will never change,” said ITF General Secretary, Stephen Cotton in a statement which coincided with the commencement of the ILA's strike action. “Dockers worldwide face the same struggle: they want to be paid well for their hard work, they want to be safe at work, and they want to go home at the end of their shifts to the people who love them and know that there’s a secure job for them and the next generation doing this vital waterfront work.
“That is what the ILA is fighting for, and the ITF and its affiliated dockers’ unions all around the world back them in that fight the whole way,” Mr Cotton said.
Amidst stalled negotiations between USMX and the ILA, which represents over 85,000 workers, ocean carriers in the United States are essentially taking employer-led industrial action against themselves and their own customers, after failing to negotiate in good faith towards a contract that recognises the value and contribution of dockers. The industrial action that flows from this pigheadedness is the intended outcome for USMX, which is gaming the American industrial relations system and seeking federal government intervention in the bosses’ favour.
“These tactics have been tried by a variety of multinational companies before, including in Australia most recently by DP World and Svitzer Tugs, but of course in the most outrageous fashion almost thirty years ago by Patricks Stevedores” explained Paddy Crumlin.
“In every instance it’s been a failure, even when they have enjoyed the patronage of conservative governments willing to act against their own people on behalf of the company, and the brinksmanship and game playing by USMX will also fail,” Crumlin said.
Overnight, the United States President Joe Biden refused to intervene in the dispute on behalf of USMX. The President urged USMX and its multinational ocean carrier members to come to the table with a fair offer to United States dockworkers and to respect the contribution made by essential workers not only to the companies' significant and growing profits but to the security and reliability of supply chains during major crises like the pandemic and recent hurricanes.
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