ITF recognise the tentative six-year labour contract agreement reached for workers at the Port of New York as potentially significant. ITF-affiliated union the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA), which represents dock workers in New York and New Jersey, has been in negotiations with the New York Shippers Association for several months over a local contract. Talks between the ILA and management have fostered the deal on regional working rules and other local issues, which is said to still be in need of some ‘refinement’. The deal is potentially of significance as it is part of a series of larger talks between the ILA and the US Maritime Alliance of shippers, terminal operators and port authorities.