US dockworkers union to suspend strike after reaching tentative deal

US President Joe Biden welcomes agreement to end three-day strike, saying dockworkers ‘deserve a strong contract’.

US dockworkers and port operators have reached a tentative agreement that will end a three-day strike that shut down shipping on the east and Gulf coasts of the United States – and had threatened to incur billions of dollars in losses.

In a joint statement on Thursday evening, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance, said they had “reached a tentative agreement on wages”, without providing any details on what was agreed upon.

The two sides also agreed to extend their master contract until January 15 of next year in order “to return to the bargaining table” to negotiate other outstanding issues, they said.

“Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume,” the statement read.

Early on Tuesday, 45,000 port workers went on strike after the union’s contract expired in a dispute over pay and the automation of tasks at ports from Maine to Texas.

The strike came at the peak of the holiday shopping season at 36 ports that handle about half the cargo from ships coming into and out of the US, raising the risk of shortages if it lasted more than a few weeks.

At least 45 container vessels that have been unable to unload were anchored outside strike-hit ports on the US east and Gulf coasts by Wednesday, up from just three before the strike began on Sunday, according to Everstream Analytics.

Citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter, the Reuters news agency reported the tentative agreement announced on Thursday would see the workers get a wage hike of around 62 percent over six years.

The union had been seeking a 77 percent raise while the employer group previously had offered a nearly 50 percent raise.

US President Joe Biden welcomed Thursday’s agreement, saying it represented “critical progress towards a strong contract”.

“I congratulate the dockworkers from the ILA, who deserve a strong contract after sacrificing so much to keep our ports open during the [COVID-19] pandemic,” he said in a statement.

“And I applaud the port operators and carriers who are members of the US Maritime Alliance for working hard and putting a strong offer on the table.”

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Al Jazeera and news agencies