Dockworkers strike paused until Jan. 15 to negotiate contract

The days-old strike of 45,000 dockworkers has come to an end, at least temporarily.

The union representing dockworkers along the East Coast and Gulf ports came to an agreement to pause the strike until Jan. 15 and return to their jobs immediately, The Associated Press reported.

The strike started on Tuesday and the agreement came on Thursday, The New York Times reported.

Some ports, such as those in Georgia, were going to open on Friday. The Port of Virginia officials said they would need 24 hours to become fully operational.

Port Houston said it would be able to handle ships by 7 p.m. The Washington Post reported.

The International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance came to an agreement that was said to give workers a 62% raise over six years.

That would bring the top wage to about $63 an hour by the end of the six years. It is currently $39 an hour, the Times reported.

Not only was pay at the center of the discussions so was automation used at the ports from Maine to Texas. The union had asked for a 77% raise over six years and a complete ban on automation. They also discussed pension contributions and the distribution of royalties on containers that the workers move, the AP reported.

The contract that was in place when it expired on Sept. 30 will be what workers will operate under until Jan. 15, the AP reported.

The strike happened just before the holiday shopping season started to ramp up but had some shoppers concerned about product shortages.

Some analysts said that every day of the strike would take four to six days to recover but didn’t think that the short strike would have much of an impact on the supply chain.

If it had stretched for a week, the strike could have cost the economy $3.78 billion the Conference Board think tank said, according to the Post.

About three-fifths of shipped goods go through the ports that had seen picket lines. The West Coast ports were open but were operating at near capacity so they could not handle much diverted cargo, the Times reported.

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