US port workers and operators reach deal to end East Coast strike

The tentative agreement is for a wage increase of around 62 per cent over six years, an insider says

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Dock workers strike outside the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth, Virginia, on Tuesday. Photo: The Virginian-Pilot via AP

Published: 7:01am, 4 Oct 2024Updated: 12:27pm, 4 Oct 2024

US dock workers and port operators reached a tentative deal that will immediately end a crippling three-day strike that has shut down shipping on the US East Coast and Gulf Coast, the two sides said on Thursday.

The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62 per cent over six years, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, including a worker on the picket line who heard the announcement. That would raise average wages to about US$63 an hour from US$39 an hour over the life of the contract.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) workers union had been seeking a 77 per cent raise while the employer group – United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) – had previously raised its offer to a nearly 50 per cent hike.

The deal ends the biggest work stoppage of its kind in nearly half a century, which blocked unloading of container ships from Maine to Texas and threatened shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts, triggering a backlog of anchored ships outside major ports.

Workers picket outside the Port of Savannah in Georgia on Thursday. Photo: Bloomberg

The union and the port operators said in a statement that they would extend their master contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues.