US dockworkers and port operators reach deal to end strike, union says
The tentative agreement is for a wage increase of around 62 per cent over six years, an insider says
US dock workers and port operators have reached a tentative deal that will immediately end a crippling three-day strike that has shut down shipping on the US East Coast and Gulf coast, the two sides said in a statement on Thursday.
The tentative agreement is for a wage increase of around 62 per cent over six years, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, including a worker on the picket line who heard the announcement. That would raise average wages to about US$63 an hour from US$39 an hour over the life of the contract.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) workers union had been seeking a 77 per cent raise while the employer group – United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) – had previously raised its offer to a nearly 50 per cent increase.
The deal ends the biggest work stoppage of its kind in nearly half a century, which blocked unloading of container ships from Maine to Texas and threatened shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts, triggering a backlog of anchored ships outside major ports
Both sides said in a statement that they would extend their master contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues.
“Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume,” the statement said.
