Longshoremen who went on strike last year at the port of Baltimore claim they are not liable for related losses sustained by their employers, in part because a coastwide labor contract banning such strikes does not apply to them.
The claim was made in a federal court filing by Jennifer Stair, an attorney for the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 333. The dockworkers union was sued last month by port employers for $3.86 million in damages — the amount arbitrator M. David Vaughn determined the employers lost during the union’s three-day strike in October.
Stair argued in Monday’s filing that the terms of the master contract submitted to Local 333 membership included a provision that it “would not go into effect” until local agreements were reached — and that no such agreement has been reached.
