The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) released a joint statement Thursday evening announcing an end – at least temporarily – to the work stoppage that shut down the East and Gulf Coast ports earlier this week. ILA and USMX have agreed to extend the current Master Contract until Jan. 15, 2025, and to reopen all affected ports while negotiations continue on outstanding contract issues.
The end of the strike is terrific news for U.S. livestock producers and exporters who ship more than $100 million of U.S. pork and beef through those ports each week, says U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) president and CEO Dan Halstrom.
“Getting people back to work, starting cargo moving again out of the Gulf and East Coast is essential to our business. From that standpoint, we’re very excited about these developments. I think the importance of this is that we have a reputation globally as being a very reliable supplier to our customers all over the world,” Halstrom says.
It’s a difficult situation for everyone involved, he adds, but especially for some of the smaller companies.
“This is really good news as we go forward,” Halstrom says.
USMEF says it is appreciative of the efforts of all of those involved, including the longshore union, container terminal operators and government officials, for bringing a quick resolution to the work stoppage.
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