A U.S. dockworkers union and the United States Maritime Alliance reached a tentative wage agreement on Thursday, ending a week-long strike that disrupted operations at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.
“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 International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance said in a joint statement.
The strike, which involved around 50,000 of the union's 85,000 members, had stressed the U.S. supply chain, causing thousands of containers to be offloaded at incorrect ports and billions of dollars' worth of goods to remain anchored offshore.
Shipping costs had already begun to rise as a result of the disruption.
The strike, the first by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) since 1977, impacted 14 ports. ILA President Harold Daggett had previously stated the union was seeking a $5 per hour wage increase annually over the six-year contract.