The president of the International Longshoremen’s Association complained that carriers “invest in building new ships at nearly $200 million each, but don’t put a dime on the table in negotiations to compensate ILA members who helped them accumulate their riches.”

ILA President Harold Daggett also accused United States Maritime Alliance of “misleading rhetoric and scare tactics” and said payments to workers from container royalty funds should be called wage supplements, not bonuses.

Daggett also said the ILA’s 200-member wage scale committee will meet Dec. 10-12 in Delray Beach, Fla., to discuss the contract. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service has overseen the talks since September.

More in the Nov. 20 Journal of Commerce