US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday signaled support for about 45,000 unionized dockworkers on the US East and Gulf coasts, whose labor talks are deadlocked over the polarizing issue of port automation.
In a Truth Social post after a meeting with Harold Daggett, who leads the International Longshoremen, Trump said, “The savings in this situation are nowhere near the suffering, injury and harm to American workers for our longshoremen. An organization representing port workers.
The ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employers’ group are facing off on January 1. 15 deadline to finalize negotiations, which have stalled on cargo handling automation. That deadline comes five days before Trump’s inauguration. The ILA strongly opposes automation, saying it kills jobs.
Both sides agreed to end the three-day strike in October. With significant engagement from the White House and other officials in President Joe Biden’s administration, the union won a 62% wage increase over six years.
Employers, many of whom are from overseas, are booking record profits, Trump said Thursday.
“I’d rather these foreign companies spend money on great men and women on our docks than machinery, which is expensive, and which has to be replaced constantly,” Trump said.
USMX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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