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PORT STRIKE ON THE US EAST COAST ENDS AS PARTIES AGREE TO A TENTATIVE DEAL
October 4, 2024
The port strike at the US East and Gulf Coast ports has ended as union dock workers and port operators agree on a tentative deal that would end the labour actions immediately.
The strike of around 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), which lasted three days from October 1, earlier raised concerns of delays and more supply chain disruptions at a time when the industry is already grappling with ongoing conflicts in the Red Sea and other geopolitical tensions.
"The International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025, to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues," the ILA and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) — which represents employers of the East and Gulf Coast longshore industry, said.
"Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume," the joint statement added.
The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62% over six years, according to Reuters raising dockworker's average wages to about US$63 an hour from US$39 an hour over the life of the contract.
However, the issue of automation, which remains a key contention between the ILA and USMX, was not mentioned.
The deal ended the first coast-wide ILA strike since 1977. The labour actions impacted 36 ports from Maine to Texas.
According to Everstream Analytics, by Wednesday, at least 45 container vessels that were unable to unload were anchored outside the strike-hit East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. This number had increased from just three before the strike began on Sunday.
JP Morgan analysts earlier estimated that the port strike could cost the US economy somewhere around US$5 billion a day.
