US dockworkers' union to pause strike to allow time for new negotiations

The three-day dockworker's strike that sparked panic buying across the United States over concerns of potential supply-chain issues has been paused after the dockworkers and port operators reached a tentative deal.

'Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume,' both parties said in a joint statement Thursday night.

Under the deal, members of the International Longshoremen's Association will see an approximately 62 percent wage increase. 

But in order for the pay raise to go into effect, the nearly 45,000 members of the dockworkers union would have to ratify a new contract - which they hope to fully finalize by January 15.

In the meantime, the two parties will continue negotiations on several other contract issues - including protections against automation - while back on the job under their existing contract.

The members of the International Longshoremen's Association do not need to vote on whether to suspend the strike, which began Tuesday over pay disputes and the automation of gates, cranes and container-moving trucks at 36 ports from Texas to Maine.

The union had been seeking a $5-an-hour raise in each of the next six years, amounting to a 77 percent increase in wages over a six-year period, according to NPR.

Its members also sought increased pension contributions and a fair distribution of royalties paid on the containers members moved. 

The announcement of a strike came at the peak of holiday shopping season at the ports - which handle about half the cargo from ships coming into and out of the United States.

Goods ranging from food to automobile shipments were then blocked - which JPMorgan analysts estimated could cost the economy as much as $5billion each day, according to the Guardian. 

Eric Clark, portfolio manager at Accuvest Global Advisors, also told USA TODAY: 'Any strike that lasts more than one week could cause goods shortages for the holidays. 

'We could get the kind of inflation for six months similar to or worse than peak inflation levels a year ago.' 

The news prompted Virginia residents to stock up on rolls of toilet paper, but most retailers in the United States had stacked up on shipped items early in anticipation of the strike. 

But many American retailers had stacked up on or shipped their goods early in anticipation of the strike.

The White House tried to downplay the economic impact of the strike, despite warnings from House Republicans and more than 170 industry groups that a work stoppage would be devastating as dozens of container ships lined up offshore waiting to distribute their cargo.

Then, when the news broke that the two sides reached a tentative agreement and the International Longshoremen's Association would pause their strike, President Joe Biden told reporters, 'With the grace of God and the goodwill of neighbors, it's gonna hold.'

In a later statement, he applauded both sides 'for acting patriotically to reopen our ports and ensure the availability of critical supplies for Hurricane Helene recovery and rebuilding.'

The president then went on to say that collective bargaining is 'critical to building a stronger economy from the middle out and the bottom up.'