A historic United States port strike has been suspended, sources told ABC News.Sources familiar with the negotiations told ABC News that the two sides had reached a tentative agreement on wages and agreed to extend the master contract until Jan.15.
The sources said they will return to the bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues.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 ImagesTens of thousands of U.S.
dockworkers had walked off the job early Tuesday morning, clogging dozens of ports along the East and Gulf coasts.International Longshoremen's Association (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 U.S.Maritime Alliance, or 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, ...