LYNDHURST, NJ. — Progress was made this past week in reaching a new Master Contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), but all that came to a halt when the issue of automation came up.

The union representing 45,000 East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers and a group representing employers held a new round of contract talks this week but failed to make significant progress on some key issues,

With roughly two months before union workers at East and Gulf Coast ports may begin a new strike, a fight over automated technology is slowing negotiations.

The union rejected the USMX's latest proposal, calling the move a "renewed attempt by USMX to eliminate ILA jobs."