As our ILA families prepare to celebrate Christmas 2018, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for your support throughout the past year and for the almost eight years I have been honored to serve you as your International President.
Perhaps our greatest gift to our membership and our industry came a few months ago when the ILA negotiated a new six-year contract extension with United States Maritime Alliance that will bring growth and stability to our industry until September 30, 2024. Our employers agreed to protect our jobs and livelihoods by keeping fully automated terminals off our ports. The ILA, in turn, promised to deliver on productivity – we were both winners in 2018!
Your prayers and well wishes helped me through a very serious health issue this past year and, in turn, I will always keep ILA members and their families in my prayers, especially at Christmas Services this year. The ILA never begins an Executive Council meeting; a Wage Scale session or our Convention without offering a collective Prayer – Faith in our Lord and Fellowship with our Sister and Brother members have carried the ILA for more than a century.
May God bless us all this Holiday Season 2018 and may we all enjoy Good Health and Happiness in 2019.