12 – 28 – 12 – Breaking newswire: Dockworkers and their employers agreed to extend contract negotiations for an additional 30 days after coming to an agreement on container royalties, avoiding a strike that would have shut down 15 East Coast and Southeast ports from Maine to Texas when the contract expired at midnight on Dec. 30.
According to the federal mediator who has been working with The International Longshoremens Association and United States Maritime Alliance, the sticking point of container royalty payments has been agreed upon in principle by both parties. These royalties supplement the wages of the longshoremen.
The details of that agreement are not being released, since negotiations are continuing. The extra 30 days is designed to give them time to negotiate the rest of the issues.
“While some significant issues remain in contention, I am cautiously optimistic that they can be resolved in the upcoming 30-day extension period,” said Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service Director George Cohen in a statement.
Read the rest of this story at Trucking Info online.