The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union and the United States Maritime Union (USMX), the trade group that operates East and Gulf ports, reached a tentative agreement Thursday to end a two-day strike.
The ILA announced Thursday night that the USMX has agreed to raise wages for dockworkers and that union members will return to work immediately.
“The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance reach a tentative agreement on wages and extend the basic agreement until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues.” “Effective immediately, all current job activities will be suspended and all operations covered by the master agreement will resume,'' the organizations said in a joint statement obtained by The Hill on Thursday. said.
The agreement suspends strikes that could have a significant impact on the U.S. economy and create political problems for President Biden and Vice President Harris, who have staunchly supported striking workers. be.
Experts say the strike will cost the U.S. economy a daily It predicted a potential loss of $5 billion.
The ILA strike also posed a serious threat to U.S. exporters, sparking a wave of panic buying, but experts said the shortage would not be evident for several weeks. Companies had been preparing for the strike for months, shipping goods early or shipping them through West Coast ports.
“Companies rely on pre-built inventories and are making adjustments to deal with initial disruptions,” said Madhav, group vice president of consumer packaged goods and manufacturing at supply chain planning solutions company RELEX.・Mr. Durva said this before reaching an agreement.
“Perishables are the main risk area, but there are no major shortages yet,” Darba added.
The agreement also nullifies what could have been a major political headache for Biden and Harris, who had faced pressure from businesses and industry groups to call off the strike.
Critics of the ILA have called on Biden to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which gives the president the power to suspend strikes for 80 days that could pose a serious threat to the U.S. economy. But Biden said he would reject Taft-Hartley and called on USMX to heed calls for pay increases.
In a statement Thursday, Biden praised the ILA and USMX for “coming together to reopen ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast.”
“Today's tentative agreement on record wages and an extension of the collective bargaining process marks important progress toward a strong contract,” Biden said.
“We congratulate the ILA longshoremen who have made tremendous sacrifices to keep our ports open during the pandemic and deserve a strong contract. And we congratulate the port operators and carriers who are members of the American Maritime Alliance. We applaud you for working hard and providing strong service.”Please put an offer on the table. ”
Updated at 7:28 p.m. EDT. Contributed by Taylor Giorno.
