NEW YORK – Waterfront labor and management officials from the East and Gulf coasts had no comment Wednesday on reports they had reached an agreement to extend their contract.
Meanwhile, the two groups began a second day of negotiations in Miami Beach.
The talks began Tuesday. They represent an early start toward an industry-International Longshoremen’s Association contract to replace the five-year pact that is scheduled to expire Sept. 30, 2001.
Participating on the union side are ILA leaders and wage-scale delegates representing locals from Maine to Texas. On the employer side are officials of U. S. Maritime Alliance Ltd. , a new umbrella group known as USMX. It represents ocean carriers, stevedores, marine-terminal operators and local port employer associations on the East and Gulf coasts.
JOC Online reported late Tuesday that the ILA and USMX had apparently reached agreement on a three-year extension of the industry’s master contract. But officials on both sides were mum about the report.
