The Future of Freight Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the event of the fall. Subscribers to Check Call have a special discount code for F3 registration. This is going to be one of the best deals on F3 tickets. Use the code CheckCallF324 or go to this link, and the discount will be applied. There is no better party than a Chattanooga party. This is not one to miss.
Oh we got trouble, right here in River City, if River City is the fourth quarter of the year. The trouble in question is the rising number of unions prepared to strike or take other action should labor disputes not be resolved. All of the backup plans for port closures and peak season traffic might need their own backup plans if strikes actually start happening.
The one to watch is the battle between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). If an agreement is not reached before Oct. 1, the union has already laid out strike plans that will affect 36 East and Gulf Coast ports from Maine to Houston. The chief complaint of the union is that pay is too low, but another sticking point is investment in automation. The main debate about automation is autogates that some ports use to process trucks without the use of ILA labor. Grace Sharkey’s article notes, “Per the ILA-USMX 2018 master contract, ‘There shall be no fully-automated terminals developed and no fully-automated equipment used … .’”
Seeing as how more and more ports are looking to invest in additional autonomous technology, this is expected to be a point of contention in negotiations.
As an alarming bonus, should talks between the ILA and USMX go south, there is a nonzero chance that the International Longshore & Warehouse Union, representing the West Coast port workers, could act in solidarity with the ILA. Nothing formal has been announced, but ILWU President Willie Adams has written a letter, quoted in Stuart Chirls’ article, stating, “From coast to coast, the ILWU and the ILA remain militant and resolute in our fight against automation. We will not settle for a substandard deal that does not adequately address our concerns about the future of our workplace and the safety of our members.”
ILWU can’t technically strike like it did for its contract renewal in 2023, but it can do a one-day stoppage or slow down work in solidarity.
Not to be outdone by the dockworkers, Boeing machinists have had enough as well. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers almost universally (96%) voted to reject the most recent agreement with Boeing. Union leaders were hopeful with the agreement reached, but union members didn’t share the sentiment. Monday saw workers rallying outside the plant in Everett, Washington. The issues for this one are also pay-related but place more emphasis on 401(k) retirement plans, to compensate for the loss of pension in previous agreements. The good news is that this strike won’t affect airline maintenance, just the delivery of new planes. So it will force the carriers to run with older planes for longer.
The ones who got it right are the Air Canada pilots. The union that represents more than 5,200 pilots has reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract that is waiting to be ratified by members, but all signs point to a yes from the members. Not many details have come out about the agreement between the pilots and the airlines as the details are remaining confidential till after the ratification vote. However, it’s expected that pilots will receive a 42% pay raise with a large chunk retroactive to September 2023.
Market Check. Taking a look at one of the largest freight markets in the U.S.: Atlanta. Capacity has lightened as outbound tender volumes drop 5.39% week over week. Not helping the situation is outbound tender rejections: Those have dropped 16 basis points w/w, landing at 3.96%. Rejection rates have previously been hovering between 4% and 5%, meaning this drop will also have spot rates start to trend downward. The one bright spot of the lightened capacity is that carrier compliance should be higher and shippers can expect a higher service standard. Heading into peak retail season, it seems that Atlanta is poised to accommodate any early shipments or overflow from the ports.
Who’s with whom? It’s everyone’s favorite time of the year, National Truck Driver Appreciation Week! While we should be appreciating drivers daily this is the one week a year to go all out and flex those carrier relationships. As a result a bunch of companies are rolling out the red carpet for drivers this week.
C.H. Robinson invites the world to #ThankATruckDriver. For each social media post using that hashtag during the week of Sept. 15-21, the C.H. Robinson Foundation will donate $10 – up to a total of $50,000 – to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund. C.H. Robinson is also going to contribute $15 to the St. Christopher fund for every hour C.H. Robinson employees volunteer for Truck Driver Appreciation Week activities.
Love’s has brought the celebration to the entire month of September. The company has a variety of promotions and deals available to drivers through the My Love Rewards Loyalty App.
Encourage your drivers and carrier partners to share the deals they find with each other, and as always don’t forget to #ThankATruckDriver.
The more you know
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