Ports from Maine to Texas handling half of total US maritime trade are back and running today following a tentative deal suspending a massive strike by some 35,000 dockers that had lasted three days. It was the first coast-wise work stoppage in nearly 50 years. Dockers will work under a three-month extension of the current contract until a formal new collective agreement is reached.

Restricted to wage issues, the tentative agreement was announced yesterday evening by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance.

“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 joint statement.

Under the agreement, docker wages would reportedly increase by 62% over the life of the 6-year contract. The maritime employers had previously offered a 50% wage increase in response to the original union demand of 77%.

This would bring the hourly wage for a top dockworker to $63 per hour at the end of the new contract, versus $39 per hour under the expired contract.

Automation and other outstanding issues will be the object of negotiations between the parties between now and January 15, 2025.

Applauding the tentative deal, which will allow many waiting vessels to proceed to dock operations, President Biden declared: “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. “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.”

(Photo of Port of Los Angeles)