Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor | Sep 06, 2012 11:19AM EDT
The International Longshoremen’s Association and East and Gulf Coast waterfront employers agreed to a request from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to resume stalled contract negotiations.
The FMCS, a federal agency that handles arbitration and mediation of labor disputes, said the negotiations will resume the week of Sept. 17, less than two weeks before the Sept. 30 expiration of the coastwide master contract between the ILA and United States Maritime Alliance.
“Due to the sensitivity of this high-profile dispute and consistent with the agencies’ longstanding practice, we will not disclose either the location of the meeting or the content of the substantive negotiations that will take place,” the FMCS said on its Web site.
Negotiations between the ILA and USMX broke down Aug. 22.
"We welcome the opportunity to resume negotiations and are grateful to the FMCS for its assistance," ILA President Harold Daggett said through a spokesman.
Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com.
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