The union representing 45,000 striking American workers at East and Gulf Coast ports reached an agreement Thursday to end a three-day strike until January 15 to allow time to negotiate a new contract.
The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, will resume operations immediately. The temporary end to the strike came after the union and the US Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, reached a tentative agreement on wages, the union and ports said in a joint statement.
A person briefed on the deal said the ports have reduced their wages from 50% to 62% in six years. This person did not want to be revealed because the agreement is meaningless. Any wage increase would have to be approved by union members as part of the ratification of the final contract.
The union went on strike early Tuesday after its contract expired over a dispute over wages and the automation of tasks at 36 ports from Maine to Texas. The strike comes just in time for the holiday shopping season at the ports, which handle about half of the cargo from ships entering and leaving the United States.
The walkout raised the risk of a shortage of goods on store shelves if it lasted more than a few weeks. Many retailers, however, had stockpiled or shipped goods in advance in anticipation of the strike.
“By the grace of God, and the goodwill of the neighbors, it will pass,” President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday night after the deal.
In a later statement, Biden applauded both parties for “doing his country to reopen our ports and ensure the availability of essential supplies for the recovery and rebuilding of Hurricane Helene.”
Biden said that collective bargaining is “critical to building a strong economy from the middle to the bottom to the top.”
Union members will not need to vote on a temporary suspension of the strike, meaning giant cranes should begin loading and unloading shipping containers Thursday night. Until January 15, workers will be covered under the old contract, which expired on September 30.
The union has been demanding a 77% wage increase over six years, as well as a complete ban on the use of automation at the ports, which members see as a threat to their jobs. Both sides also differed on pension issues and the distribution of money paid to containers delivered by workers.
Thomas Kohler, who teaches labor and employment law at Boston College, said the agreement to stop the strike means the two sides are close to a final agreement.
“I am sure that if they had not gone anywhere, they would not have stopped (the strike),” he said. “They have salaries. They’re going to use the language for automation, and I’m sure what this means is it gives the teams time to sit down and find a language they can both live with.”
Industry analysts say that each day of the port strike takes four to six days to recover. But they say that a short strike of a few days will not seriously disrupt the supply of goods.
Kohler said the end of the strike could leave railroads without cars, engines and workers. But the railroads are likely to act quickly to fix that.
Shortly before the strike began, the Maritime Alliance said both sides had moved away from their original wage offers, which was a sign of progress.
The deal preempts a strike and any potential shortfall in the November presidential election, eliminating a potential liability for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. It’s also a big plus for the Biden-Harris administration, which has billed itself as the most union-friendly in American history. A deficit could raise prices and control inflation.
Thursday’s agreement came after administration officials met with foreign shipping companies before dawn on Zoom, according to a person briefed on the day’s events who asked not to be identified because the talks were confidential. The White House wants to increase pressure for a resolution, emphasizing responsibility for reopening ports to help recover from Hurricane Helene, the person said.
Acting Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, told them that she can bring the union to the negotiating table to extend the contract if the carriers propose higher wages. Chief of Staff Jeff Zients told the carriers that they must make a commitment by the end of the day so that the man-made strike does not escalate into a natural disaster, the person said.
Later in the day, members of the Maritime Alliance agreed on a big pay raise, sealing the deal, according to the person.
—By Tom Krisher, Associated Press business writer
AP writers Darlene Superville and Josh Boak in Washington and Annie Mulligan in Houston contributed to this report.
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