With a strike deadline looming, the group representing East and Gulf Coast ports is asking a federal agency to make the Longshoremen’s union come to the bargaining table to negotiate a new contract.
The U.S. Maritime Alliance says it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the International Longshoremen’s Association is not bargaining in good faith.
The alliance said in a prepared statement Thursday that it filed the charge “due to the ILA’s repeated refusal to come to the table and bargain on a new master contract.”
The ports are asking for immediate relief, an order requiring the union to resume bargaining.
In an email, the NLRB said it is investigating the complaint. It’s unlikely that the board would make a decision until well after the strike deadline. The NLRB says typically it takes seven to 14 weeks to decide on the merits of a charge.
