Longshormen Walk Off the Job at Port Newark/Elizabeth

By Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief On Jan 29, 2016

Members of the International Longshormen’s Association walked off the job this morning at four terminals in New Jersey and two in New York and, at press-time, no one knows exactly why.

Reached by New Jersey Business magazine while on route to an emergency meeting with the ILA contract board, Beverly Fedorko, spokeswoman for the New York Shipping Association, said the walk out is illegal and that an arbitrator is on standby to work out any issues. If no agreement is reached, the matter will go to court where an injunction can possibly be obtained. “It is clearly in the best interest for everyone to go back to work,” she said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released a statement on the issue, which reads, “As the agency that oversees the largest port complex on the East Coast, we strongly urge the ILA members to return to work immediately and resolve their differences after they return.  In the meantime, Port Authority Police are actively working to ensure public safety for all of the stakeholders at the port.”

It also said that no new trucks will be allowed to queue on port roadways.

Meanwhile, it was reported that logistics companies and truckers were experiencing massive delays at Port Newark and Port Elizabeth.

The New York Shipping Association is currently not in collective bargaining negotiations with the ILA. In a Star-Ledger article, Jim McNamara, spokesman for the ILA, commented there may be some anger among members over what they see as interference from the New York Waterfront Commission in their collective bargaining agreement. He said he was still looking into the matter.

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