US Dockworkers End Strike Automatically With Interim Agreement

And just like that, the strike was over. At least for now.

The 47,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), who have been on strike since Tuesday, will reportedly return to work on Friday after a temporary agreement, according to a new CNN report. The news outlet cited two unnamed sources who stressed that “there is no final agreement on a full contract yet,” but there is a “fixed deal” on wages.

The strike, which affected 36 ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast, was motivated by demands involving both wages and the role of automation in international shipping. And there was widespread concern that a prolonged strike could affect the availability of goods to be purchased in the US. “

The proposed agreement will need to be ratified by union members and the agreement, reported by the Associated Press, extends the strike until January 15. The union reached a tentative agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents shipping companies, terminal operators, and port authorities.

The deal will allow people to return to work while a longer six-year contract is being negotiated and includes a temporary 62% wage increase, according to Reuters. The union asked for a 77% wage increase while the Maritime Alliance proposed a 50% increase.

Business owners are outraged by the White House and have asked President Joe Biden to invoke the 1947 Taft-Hartley law, which can be used by the president to order workers back to work. But Biden declined to use that power, instead urging the two sides to come together to help keep supplies flowing after Hurricane Helene’s devastation.

“This natural disaster is very important,” Biden said Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. “The last thing we need on top of that is a man-made disaster—what’s happening in the ports.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis called for hurricane relief efforts as he threatened to call off a strike Thursday, calling the workers’ actions “unacceptable.”

“At my command, the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard will be deployed to critical ports affected to maintain order, and if possible, resume operations that were closed during this disruption,” DeSantis said, according to NBC6 South. In Florida.

The strike was contentious, to say the least. The President of the ILA, Harold J. Daggett, complained on Wednesday that he has received death threats and is upset that some news outlets are reporting personal details about his life.

“The New York Post this week published aerial photos of his home in New Jersey, including his address in the headline,” the union said in a press release. “They printed some details of his life, full of false accusations against him, with the sole purpose of destroying his character and undermining his 68 years of ILA service, with the aim of weakening his ability to negotiate a new Master Contract for ILA members. .”