The union representing tens of thousands of dock workers across the United States has agreed to suspend its strike while negotiations continue.
Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) on Tuesday pulled out of 14 major ports along the Eastern and Gulf coasts, halting container traffic from Maine to Texas.
The union says it has reached a tentative agreement on wages and will return to work on Friday until January 15, when they will return to the bargaining table to negotiate “all other outstanding issues.”
The measure marks the first such shutdown in nearly 50 years and threatens to wreak havoc amid the busy holiday shopping season and the upcoming presidential election.
“With immediate effect, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the main contract will resume,” a joint statement from the International Labor Department and the Employer Group-U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) said.
Under the initial agreement, wages will rise by 62% over the next six years, BBC News has learned.
But negotiations will continue on a number of outstanding issues, including automation.
The union had been calling for a 77% wage increase, while USMX had previously increased its bid for a wage increase to nearly 50%.
The BBC has contacted ILA and USMX for comment.
“The Israel Labor League’s brief strike… will certainly go down as one of the most profitable three-day days in labor management history,” said Patrick L. Anderson, CEO of Anderson Economics, a business consulting group.
“Apparently, ILA workers received a 60% pay raise after they stopped working for three days in a strike that did not do any serious damage to the American economy.”
The strike began on Tuesday after negotiations failed to reach a new six-year contract.
The strike was the ILA’s first major outage since 1977.
The affected ports included some of the nation’s busiest, including New York, Georgia and Texas. Experts estimate that it handles more than a third of U.S. imports and exports.
US President Joe Biden praised the initial agreement in a statement on Thursday evening, saying it “represents decisive progress towards a strong decade.”
“I congratulate the ILA dock workers, who deserve a strong contract after sacrificing so much to keep our ports open during the pandemic,” Biden said.
“I commend the port operators and carriers that are members of the US Maritime Alliance for working hard and bringing a strong presentation to the table.”
Biden noted the need to open ports to “ensure the availability of vital supplies” to those struck by Hurricane Helen, which left more than 200 dead in the southeastern United States.
Business owners also welcomed the news of the suspension of the strike.
“The decision to end the current strike and allow East Coast and Gulf ports to reopen is good news for the nation’s economy,” Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, said in a statement.
Businesses were preparing for the possibility of a long-term shutdown, which threatens to disrupt global trade and the US economy.
Some companies were working to increase supplies as strike warnings spread over the summer.
Many consumers were also fearful and stocked up on supplies, such as baby formula and toilet paper.
Under the 2018 contract that expired Monday, dockworkers received a base hourly wage of between $20 and $39, plus other benefits, including royalties tied to the movement of containers.
Harold Daggett, head of the Israel Land Administration, called on the companies to agree to increase hourly wages by $5 for each year of the contract.
The union, which has about 47,000 active members according to federal filings, is seeking protections against automation.
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