US dockworkers struck a deal with their employers, averting a strike that could have crippled shipping
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- The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance have struck a deal.
- This deal averted a potential strike involving thousands of dockworkers.
- The strike would have crippled shipping lines along the East and Gulf Coasts.
The International Longshoremen's Association and the US Maritime Alliance said Wednesday they had agreed on a new six-year master contract.
The two sides said in a joint statement that this will allow them to avoid any work stoppages on January 15.
"This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coast ports — making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong," the joint statement read, adding that the deal was a "win-win agreement."
The ILA and USMX said that they will get their members to review and approve the agreement before it is released publicly. For now, both sides will continue to operate under their current contract until the terms of the new agreement are ratified via a vote.
The strike would have potentially paralyzed shipping lines along the East and Gulf Coasts.