U.S. dockworkers are heading back to work after reaching a tentative agreement after being on strike since Tuesday.
The International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance announced the news Thursday, ABC News reported.
The historic port strike was suspended until Jan. 15 after the tentative agreement was reached “on wages.”
“Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume,” the ILA and USMX said in a statement Thursday night.
The tentative agreement is designed to increase workers’ wages by 62% over six years, sources confirmed to ABC News.
The shipping industry group offered a 50% wage increase earlier this week. However, the union initially wanted a 77% pay increase over six years.
The tentative agreement brings the hourly wage for a top-tier dockworker to $63 per hour at the end of the new contract. At the end of the recent expired contact, that same worker was making $39 per hour.
The Maritime Alliance increased its offer due to pressure from the Biden administration to offer higher wages.
The tentative agreement only solves the wage issue. The union and shipping companies are still sparring over the use of automated machinery, sources said.
“I want to applaud the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance for coming together to reopen the East Coast and Gulf ports. Today’s tentative agreement on a record wage and an extension of the collective bargaining process represents critical progress towards a strong contract,” President Joe Biden said.
“I want to thank the union workers, the carriers, and the port operators for acting patriotically to reopen our ports and ensure the availability of critical supplies for Hurricane Helene recovery and rebuilding. Collective bargaining works, and it is critical to building a stronger economy from the middle out and the bottom up,” he added.
Tens of thousands of U.S. dockworkers went on strike early Tuesday morning, halting movement at dozens of ports along the East and Gulf coasts.
ILA members walked picket lines at shipping ports starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. This was the union’s first coastwide strike in about 50 years.
The ILA, the union representing 50,000 East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers, sought higher wages and a ban on the use of some automated equipment.
“ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing,” the ILA told ABC News Monday. “Meanwhile, ILA dedicated longshore workers continue to be crippled by inflation due to USMX’s unfair wage packages.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Biden pointed out the profits shipping firms have received in recent years. He also mentioned the sacrifices made by dockworkers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
USMX said Wednesday it was “committed to bargaining in good faith to address the ILA’s demands and USMX’s concerns.”
A strike lasting weeks or months could have affected the economy by reviving inflation for some goods. This also could have led to layoffs at manufacturers as raw materials dwindled, experts said.
