Shipping containers sit piled at the Port of Baltimore on Sept. 21, 2018.
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The strike by tens of thousands of dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts has been called off, after the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, representing ocean carriers and port operators, reached a tentative agreement on wages.
The two sides have agreed to a 62% wage increase over six years, according to sources who were familiar with the deal, but not authorized to speak publicly about it. The union had been seeking a 77% increase over six years. A day before the strike began, the companies had offered nearly 50% in raises.
The parties have also agreed to extend the existing contract until Jan. 15, 2025. They will return between now and then to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues, including the union’s demand of a ban on all automation at the ports.
The White House had faced mounting pressure from House Republicans and hundreds of industry groups to intervene. They warned of widespread harm to supply chains and the broader economy if the strike was allowed to continue.
But President Biden repeatedly vowed to let the collective bargaining process play out.
“I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” Biden told reporters days before the strike, citing the federal law that allows the president to call for an 80-day cooling-off period when the nation’s safety is at risk.
More than $2 billion worth of goods typically flow through these ports daily, from chemicals and clothing to bourbon and bananas. This week, dozens of container ships had started to line up, offshore, waiting for the strike to end.
The affected ports — from Boston to Houston — normally handle more than half of all cargo containers coming into the U.S., or about a million containers a month, as well as more than 300,000 containers heading out of the country, according to the freight-tracking company Vizion.
Effective immediately, all work will resume, the two sides said in a joint statement. But it could take some days to clear the backlog of ships waiting offshore.
On Thursday night, the retail industry swiftly issued statements expressing relief.
“Without the specter of disruption looming, the U.S. economy can continue on its path for growth and retailers can focus on delivering for consumers,” the Retail Industry Leaders Association said.
