January 29, 2016 | Industry Insights
BREAKING NEWS: ILA Walkoff at Port of NY/NJ over Labor Dispute
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has walked off the job at all of the terminals at the Port of NY/NJ due to a labor dispute. All of the terminals are shut down as of now.
The walkout began about 10 a.m. on Friday, and reportedly affected all port terminals. Trucking company dispatchers advised drivers to avoid joining queues outside terminal gates.
According to an article in the Journal of Commerce (JOC), there was no official confirmation of the cause of the walkout. However, multiple sources said it was due to ILA unhappiness with hiring rules of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, which oversees port hiring.
The ILA walkout, said the JOC, came as New York-New Jersey terminals were struggling to catch up after a four-day weekend shutdown from Winter Storm Jonas, and a three-day holiday the previous weekend for the Martin Luther King Day observance.
In the meantime, USMX and NYSA are working with the ILA to get the issue resolved.