MIAMI – After three days of picketing at PortMiami, hundreds of port workers there and at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale are getting back to work.
“We reached somewhat of a partial agreement with the USMX,” ILA Local 1526 President Johnnie Dixon said. “We got a pretty substantial wage increase over the next six years, so our members will be returning back to work.”
Workers from ports here in South Florida, to Houston and all the way up to Boston were making their way to their job sites Friday morning to work on a variety of hands-on jobs, like handling containers and the products inside.
Contract specifics between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, are still to be determined by early next year.
Automated machines is a key point the union is hoping to figure out.
“When automation is not implemented with the proper safeguards in place, it kills jobs and, at the end of the day, we all know that’s what importers are trying to do,” Dixon said.
On Thursday night, workers were seen hugging each other after the announcement of a tentative deal came out.
Union heads released the following statement Thursday:
“We have come to a tentative agreement on wages, we are on a 3 month extension. The picket is over and back to normal operations as of 8am tomorrow.”
“We feel good about what’s to come in January, but right now we’re just going to celebrate with the benchmark that we’ve reached so far,” Dixon said.
Even though workers are back at ports, negotiations continue and the new deadline to finalize a new contract is Jan. 15.