The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) said it welcomed the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service announcement of a 30-day contract extension agreed to by the International Longshoremen Association (ILA) and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). This temporary extension averts the coast-wide labor strike that had been expected to occur when the contract had been set to expire December 29.
With just one day to spare before an economically crippling strike at Americas East and Gulf Coast ports, the U.S. apparel and footwear industry welcomes news that the parties have agreed to a 30-day contract extension while a final deal can be reached, said AAFA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. The clock now begins for the negotiators to return to the table and work toward a long-term solution to restore greater predictability and certainty to the business decisions the U.S. apparel and footwear industry makes every day.
With 98 percent of apparel and 99 percent of footwear sold in the United States each year being produced internationally, the United States is home to more than 300 million importers who have come to count on the U.S. apparel and footwear industry’s ability to deliver fashionable, affordable, and safe clothes and shoes. The industrys ability to move product in and out of a U.S. port sustains more than four million U.S. apparel and footwear industry jobs.
The average American purchased seven pairs of shoes and 62 garments last year, contributing to more than $350 billion in U.S. retail sales in 2011.
