East Coast Dock Strike Ends!

US dock workers agree on deal with port operators to end strike. The US ports strike that shut down shipping on the east and Gulf coasts for three days came to an end on Thursday after dock workers struck a tentative deal with port operators.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) announced that the union had reached an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) on wages, suspending their walkout until January. Work would resume immediately, the union said.

Reuters Writes

The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62% 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 $63 an hour from $39 an hour over the life of the contract. The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) workers union had been seeking a 77% raise while the employer group – United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) – had previously raised its offer to a nearly 50% hike.

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.

The union and the port operators said in a statement that they would extend their master contract until Jan. 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.
Among key issues that remain unresolved is automation that workers say will lead to job losses.

Experts had warned that a prolonged strike could block the import and export of a number of products, including food, factory parts, and raw materials like wood and copper. Economists also worried that a long work stoppage could potentially drive up inflation and even lead to shortages of certain products. The tentative agreement to end the strike removes a cloud for the Biden administration. In the weeks before the strike, Mr. Biden had underlined that he wouldn’t invoke the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act to order an 80-day cooling off period, but rather allow the collective bargaining process to play out.

Behind the scenes, however, the White House pressed the sides to come to terms, dispatching officials from the Labor Department, Transportation Department and National Economic Council to resolve their differences.