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ABC NewsVideoLiveShows538ShopLog InStream onDockworkers strike suspended, tentative agreement includes 62% pay raise over 6 yearsTens of thousands of U.S. dockworkers went on strike on Tuesday.ByMax Zahn, Meredith Deliso, and Soo YounOctober 3, 2024, 8:44 PM1:21A container ship sits anchored in New York Harbor as it waits for the Port of Newark to re-open after members of the International Longshoremen's Association, or ILA, began walking off the job yesterday, Staten Island, N.Y., Oct. 02, 2024.Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesA historic United States port strike has been suspended and a tentative agreement was reached "on wages," according to the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance."Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume," the ILA and USMX said in a joint statement Thursday evening.The tentative agreement would increase workers’ wages by 62% over the life of the 6-year contract, sources familiar confirm to ABC News.This represents a significant increase from the shipping industry group’s offer of a 50% wage increase earlier this week. The union had been pushing for a 77% pay hike over six years.The tentative agreement would bring the hourly wage for a top dockworker to $63 per hour at the end of the new contract, up from $39 per hour under the expired contract.The Maritime Alliance increased its offer amid public pressure from the Biden administration to put forward a contract offering higher wages.The tentative agreement does not resolve differences between the union and shipping companies over the use of automated machinery, sources said. That will be a key focus of negotiations between both sides from now until January 15.Striking workers at the Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn gather after members of the International Longshoremen's Association, or ILA, began walking off the job, Oct. 2, 2024, in Brooklyn, New York.Spencer Platt/Getty Images"I want to applaud the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance for coming together to reopen the East Coast and Gulf ports. Today’s tentative agreement on a record wage and an extension of the collective bargaining process represents critical progress towards a strong contract," Preisdent Joe Biden said on the agreement."I want to thank the union workers, the carriers, and the port operators for acting patriotically to reopen our ports and ensure the availability of critical supplies for Hurricane Helene recovery and rebuilding. Collective bargaining works, and it is critical to building a stronger economy from the middle out and the bottom up," he continued.Tens of thousands of U.S. dockworkers had walked off the job early Tuesday morning, clogging dozens of ports along the East and Gulf coasts.ILA members started to set up picket lines at shipping ports up and down the Atlantic and Gulf coasts as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday in the union's first coastwide strike in nearly 50 years.MORE: Dockworkers hit picket lines in historic US port strike that could impact pricesThe ILA, the union representing 50,000 East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers under the contract at issue, was seeking higher wages and a ban on the use of some automated equipment."ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing," the ILA told ABC News in a statement on Monday. "Meanwhile, ILA dedicated longshore workers continue to be crippled by inflation due to USMX's unfair wage packages."Following the strike, President Joe Biden called for a fair offer from the USMX an organization bargaining on behalf of the dockworkers' employers. In a statement released on Tuesday, Biden emphasized the strong profits enjoyed by shipping firms in recent years, as well as the sacrifices made by dockworkers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Striking workers at the Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn gather after members of the International Longshoremen's Association, or ILA, began walking off the job, Oct. 2, 2024, in Brooklyn, New York.Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesAmid the strike, USMX said Wednesday it remained "committed to bargaining in good faith to address the ILA's demands and USMX's concerns."A prolonged work stoppage of several weeks or months could have rekindled inflation for some goods and triggered layoffs at manufacturers as raw materials dried up, experts said.MORE: A looming port strike could fuel inflation and cause layoffs, experts sayThe last time East Coast and Gulf Coast workers went on strike, in 1977, the work stoppage lasted seven weeks.In 2002, a strike among workers at West Coast ports lasted 11 days before then-President George W. Bush invoked the Taft-Hartley Act and ended the standoff.Related TopicsDockworkers strikePopular ReadsDelta plane crashes, overturns in Toronto; all survive, officials sayFeb 17, 8:50 PMTrump 2nd term live updates: Pence calls out Trump for saying Ukraine started war1 hour agoElon Musk's latest move involves millions of Americans' personal tax details: SourcesFeb 17, 9:48 AMJudge denies request to temporarily block DOGE's mass firings, access to dataFeb 18, 8:10 PMTrump 2nd term updates: Trump attends the Super BowlFeb 9, 7:18 PMABC News Live24/7 coverage of breaking news and live eventsABC News NetworkAbout Nielsen MeasurementChildren's Online Privacy PolicyContact UsDo Not Sell or Share My Personal InformationInterest-Based AdsPrivacy PolicyTerms of UseYour US State Privacy Rights © 2025 ABC News




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