Advertisement

Business

Dockworkers agree to suspend strike until after holidays

Workers are demanding raises up to 77% over six years.

Dockworkers at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports have agreed to start moving cargo again while they continue collective bargaining with their employers on a new contract, the union representing the workers said in a statement on Thursday.

The International Longshoremen’s Association said it had agreed to extend the contract until Jan. 15 and work will resume.

Container ports from Houston to Miami and up to Boston have been closed since the labor contract between the ILA and the US Maritime Alliance, which represents terminal operators and shipping lines, expired on Tuesday.

Advertisement
Business Briefing

Become a business insider with the latest news.

Or with:

Dozens of ships carrying containers and autos have anchored off the coast of major trade hubs including New York, South Carolina and Virgina over the past few days.

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 United States.

Advertisement

The walkout raised the risk of shortages of goods on store shelves if it lasted more than a few weeks. But most retailers had stocked up or shipped items early in anticipation of the work stoppage.

“The strike is over,” ILA Local 333 President Scott Cowan told CBS Baltimore affiliate, adding that dockworkers will be back at work Friday morning to load and unload cargo after a three-day work stoppage.

Cowan said the union has accepted an offer that would increase wages 61.5% over the new six-year contract, “and we’re going to have other language to protect us from automation worked out over the next few months and other issues that we need resolved.”

Advertisement

President Joe Biden, who had put pressure on port employers and shipping lines to reach a deal with the striking dock workers, expressed optimism about the suspension.

“We’ve been working hard on it,” he told reporters Thursday evening. “By the grace of God and good will of neighbors, it’s going to hold.”

- Laura Curtis and Josh Wingrove for Bloomberg with assistance from Kate Queram. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related Stories
Read More
(From left) Sisters Anna Tomotaki Montoux, Sophia Tomotaki and Leah Tomotaki celebrate their...
Knox-Henderson getting more love with its ‘different vibe’ for shoppers
Area poised for more prominence in active D-FW retail scene
Anna Minets, who is visiting from Miami, walks her dog Chewbacca as she window shops along...
Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite inflation fears, higher prices
Online shopping helped fuel increases, officials say.
CVS store located at 3133 Lemmon Avenue East in Dallas.
Dallas-Fort Worth stores: Here’s what’s open on Christmas Day
Many stores adjusted hours and sent staff home for the holiday. Some Hispanic supermarkets will be open.