Longshoremen in Tampa on strike
Tampa, FL – On Tuesday at 12:01 a.m., about 40 longshoremen and their supporters began their picket line outside the Port of Tampa. The International Longshoremen Association Locals 1691 and 1804 are among the 50,000 South and Gulf Coast longshoremen on strike.
The strike started after two years of bargaining with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) did not lead to a contract that the ILA could accept. The main disagreement was over automation in the industry. The ILA wants full preservation of historic jobs and will not accept full or semi-automated replacement of workers. Longshoremen are also demanding wages that account for inflation.
“Employers push automation under the guise of safety, but it is really about cutting labor costs to increase their already exponentially high profits. As the last six years have demonstrated, automation cannot outperform the skilled men and women of the ILA,” said Nick DeFresco, president of ILA Local 1691.
The companies that make up USMX report billions of dollars of profit per year.
The longshoremen held signs reading, “ILA workers over machines: Defend our jobs and rights” and chanted “ILA all the way!”
“The ILA will continue to fight until the members receive a fair contract that they deserve,” said DeFresco.