Aerial view of Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 3, 2024.
Anna Money Tree | Getty Images
A major U.S. longshoremen union and the American Maritime Alliance have reached a tentative agreement on wages and extended the existing contract until Jan. 15 to give time to negotiate a new one.
The move ends a strike that has plagued East Coast and Gulf Coast ports since early this week and threatened U.S. supplies fruitcars and other merchandise.
“The International Longshoremen’s Association and the American Maritime Alliance, Inc. have reached a preliminary agreement on wage issues and agreed to extend the main contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table for negotiations on all other outstanding issues,” The International Longshoremen’s Association and the American Maritime Union said in a joint statement.
This week, strikes have begun to put pressure on U.S. supply chains. Thousands of containers were dumped in the wrong ports, and billions of dollars worth of cargo was anchored offshore because ports were inoperable. CNBC previously reported. Shipping costs are already starting to rise.
This strike is For the first time since 1977, ILAwhich affected the operations of 14 different ports. About 50,000 of the union’s 85,000 members went on strike this week.
In a statement on Tuesday, ILA President Harold Daggett explain The union is asking for a $5 hourly increase each year of the six-year contract.
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