US dockworkers agree to suspend strike until Jan. 15

Dockworkers at U.S. East and Gulf coast ports have agreed to start moving cargo again while they continue collective bargaining with their employers on a new contract.

The International Longshoremen’s Association agreed to extend the contract until Jan. 15 and work will resume Friday, the union said in a statement Thursday.

“The strike is over,” ILA Local 333 President Scott Cowan told CBS Baltimore affiliate, adding that dockworkers will be back at work Friday morning to load and unload cargo after a three-day work stoppage.

Cowan said the union has accepted an offer that would increase wages 61.5% over the new six-year contract, “and we’re going to have other language to protect us from automation worked out over the next few months and other issues that we need resolved.”

Container ports from Houston to Miami and up to Boston have been closed since the labor contract between the ILA and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents terminal operators and shipping lines, expired Tuesday.

Dozens of ships carrying containers and autos have anchored off the coast of major trade hubs including New York, South Carolina and Virginia over the past few days. The cargo backlog from three days of port closures is likely to take 12 days to clear, according to analysts.

It was unclear Thursday whether the terminals — which had to close up operations completely ahead of the strike — would be open this weekend to help clear the backlog.

APM Terminals in Mobile, Alabama, said in a notice to customers it would resume operations at 7 a.m. on Friday, though “weekend hours have not been decided at this time.”

President Joe Biden, who had put pressure on port employers and shipping lines to reach a deal with the striking dock workers, commended both sides and linked the port closures to hurricane recovery efforts.

“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,” Biden said in a statement Thursday after the deal was announced. “Collective bargaining works.”

‘Going to Hold’

Industry groups have been sounding the alarm since June, when the ILA called off negotiations with the USMX and have been calling on Biden to intervene to end the strike.

They National Retail Federation applauded the decision to reopen ports while negotiations continue, and said “it is critically important” that the two sides sign a final deal ahead of the new deadline to prevent a repeat scenario on Jan. 15.

“The sooner they reach a deal, the better,” CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.

Biden expressed optimism about the strike suspension.

“We’ve been working hard on it,” he told reporters Thursday evening. “By the grace of God and good will of neighbors, it’s going to hold.”