Efforts to avoid a dockworker walkout at some of the busiest seaports in the U.S. are entering a crucial phase, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Union officials representing 45,000 workers will meet in New Jersey for two days starting Wednesday to discuss wage demands and prepare for an Oct. 1 strike.
Harold Daggett, the head of the union that represents dockworkers at ports across the country, said earlier this month that employers are “at an impasse” with the International Longshoremen’s Association over wages and that his members will walk out if the union doesn’t reach a new labor deal before the current multiyear contract expires on Sept. 30.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the ILA is pushing for a 77% wage increase for workers over the course of six years.
