US East Coast strikes new six-year contract with Gulf Coast dockworkers

According to foreign media reports, 45,000 dockworkers and their employers in the eastern United States and the Gulf Coast announced on Wednesday that the two parties have reached a preliminary agreement on a new six-year labor contract. The agreement avoids strikes that could further disrupt supply chains and negatively affect the U.S. economy.

In a joint statement, the International Longshoremen Association (ILA) and the American Maritime Union (USMX) called the agreement a "win-win". The agreement includes solutions to the automation problem, which is one of the most controversial issues at the negotiating table. According to the statement, "This agreement protects existing ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing new technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East Coast and Gulf Coast ports-making them safer, more efficient, and creating the capabilities they need to keep supply chains strong."

Although the specific terms of the agreement have not been made public, ILA and USMX agreed to continue operating under the existing contract until the new contract is approved. Previously, discussions on automation were extended until Jan. 15 to allow final details to be finalized. Shipping executives, customers and analysts had worried that the two sides could not overcome their differences, which led to the second ILA strike a few days before the inauguration ceremony of incoming President Donald Trump on January 20th.