> The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62% over six years, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, including a worker on the picket line who heard the announcement. That would raise average wages to about $63 an hour from $39 an hour over the life of the contract.
> The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) workers union had been seeking a 77% raise while the employer group - United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) - had previously raised its offer to a nearly 50% hike.
Note that this is not a final deal but more like a temporary delay of the strike, while they continue negotiations:
> Both sides said in a statement that they would extend their master contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues.
That is one of the things that they will still need to negotiate. My guess is that agreeing on the size of the wage increase opened both sides up to the notion of good faith bargaining. So we will see where they will end up. But I am predicting that these companies are not going to block themselves from automation and will probably only agree to sustain existing points against automation.
The details of tentative deal:
> The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62% over six years, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, including a worker on the picket line who heard the announcement. That would raise average wages to about $63 an hour from $39 an hour over the life of the contract.
> The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) workers union had been seeking a 77% raise while the employer group - United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) - had previously raised its offer to a nearly 50% hike.
Note that this is not a final deal but more like a temporary delay of the strike, while they continue negotiations:
> Both sides said in a statement that they would extend their master contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues.
What about their requirement that automation be abandoned?
No agreement has been reached regarding automation. It is one of the issues which will neex to be negotiated between now and January 15th.
That is one of the things that they will still need to negotiate. My guess is that agreeing on the size of the wage increase opened both sides up to the notion of good faith bargaining. So we will see where they will end up. But I am predicting that these companies are not going to block themselves from automation and will probably only agree to sustain existing points against automation.