UPDATE: ILA and USMX Extend Agree to Extend Contract until Dec.
29
September 20, 2012 | The Director of the Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) announced today that the US Maritime Alliance
(USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) have
agreed to a 90 day extension of their contract (until December 29)
therefore averting the threat of a strike on the East Coast ports on
September 30.
The statement by FMCS Director George H. Cohen follows:
I am pleased to announce that at the close of today’s
productive negotiation session, in which progress was made on several
important subjects, the parties have agreed to extend the collective
bargaining agreement due to expire on September 30, 2012 for a ninety
(90) day period, i.e. through December 29, 2012. In taking this
significant step, the parties emphasized that they are doing so
“for the good of the country” to avoid any interruption in
interstate commerce.
This extension will provide the parties an opportunity to focus
on the outstanding core issues in a deliberate manner apart from the
pressure of an immediate deadline. The negotiations on the Master
Agreement will be conducted during the same time frame as negotiations
for local agreements. The negotiations will continue under the auspices
of the FMCS. Due to the sensitive nature of these high profile
negotiations, we will have no further comment on the schedule for the
negotiations, their location, or the substance of what takes place
during those negotiations.
“The Toy Industry Association and its members were thrilled to
learn that ILA and USMX have agreed to extend their negotiations through
year-end,” said Carter Keithley, Toy Industry Association
president. “This step will help to assure that the upcoming
holidays will be happy for families and kids across the
country.”
TIA will continue to track the negotiations and the impact the
proposed strike has on toy companies and retailers. [Read a recent Toy News Tuesday article about
the potential repercussions of a strike]
Questions can be submitted via e-mail to Rebecca Mond, TIA Director of
Federal Government Affairs.
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