NY/NJ Longshoremen Take a Short Walk-Off at the Port

February 2, 2016 | Business returned to normal over the weekend at the Ports of New York and New Jersey after thousands of longshoremen walked off the job at 10 a.m. Friday. The brief walk-off, which temporarily halted the delivery of goods in the area, ended after an arbitrator deemed the work stoppage unlawful and the longshoremen were ordered to return to work.

The inciting incident is still unclear and the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor has begun investigations into the labor action.

In an NJ.com article, NYSA spokeswoman Beverly Fedorko cited “work preservation” as the cause of the walk-off. Union officials issued statements detailing the International Longshoremen’s Association’s (ILA) ongoing dispute with the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor as the cause, while a New York Times article indicated that the possibility that a federal criminal investigation into the union’s leadership could be the source of the tension.

The current east coast labor contract between ILA and the employer association U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) runs until September 2018. In the wake of the West Coast slowdowns, the two sides announced in September 2015 that they would begin talks early with the hopes of extending the contract up to seven years past the expiration date.

TIA members will be kept informed on this topic as further updates and developments occur. Those who are interested in staying engaged on transportation and supply chain logistics issues may contact TIA’s Rebecca Mond, senior director of federal government affairs at 202.459.0352.