Threats of a labour strike at the U.S. East and Gulf ports are now off the table after members of the International Longshoremen Association (ILA) recently voted to ratify the new six-year labour contract with employers, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).

The ILA said almost 99% of its members voted in favor of a new six-year labour contract on February 25.

The ILA said the "landmark agreement" is a contract package with a conservative estimated cost of US$35 billion.

The agreement includes, among others, a record 62% wage increase and full protections against automation.

The new labour contract and all of its benefits are retroactive to October 1, 2024, and will be in effect until September 30, 2030.

"I am pleased to announce that thousands of ILA longshore workers covered by this Master Contract today have overwhelmingly supported its ratification with nearly 99% in favor, and we now have labor peace for the next six years," said  Harold Daggett, president of the ILA, who also served as the union's chief negotiator.

"It was a tough contract to negotiate and even took a three-day coast-wide strike in October 2024," he added.

Around 45,000 members of the ILA staged labour actions for three days late last year, affecting 36 ports from Maine to Texas after their previous contract with USMX, representing port operators, terminal operators, and ocean carriers, expired on October 1.

The port strike concluded shortly after, as union dock workers and port operators reached a tentative agreement that would put an immediate end to the labour actions, easing mounting concerns about delays and further supply chain disruptions at a time when the industry was already contending with ongoing conflicts in the Red Sea and other geopolitical tensions.

JP Morgan analysts estimated then that the port strike could cost the US economy somewhere around US$5 billion a day.

Meanwhile, following the ratification of the new six-year labour contract, the ILA said that the specific details of the agreement would not be made public.

The ILA and USMX announced that they will formally sign the new six-year agreement on Tuesday, March 11th, 2025.