Striking U.S. dockworkers reached a tentative agreement on Friday after tens of thousands of workers walked off the job early Tuesday.
International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) members will return to work Friday after reaching an agreement with employers to increase their wages by 62 percent. The offer is valid for the next 90 days, until Jan. 15. However, the agreement will be suspended if no deal is reached. The union had been seeking a 77 percent raise.
This was the union's first coastwide strike in nearly 50 years, representing 50,000 East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers. The strike affected 36 ports, including New York, Baltimore, and Houston.
Dock worker strikes suspended - I wonder what happened pic.twitter.com/RKFvCwX34s
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) October 3, 2024
President Joe Biden sided with the union, calling for an honest offer from the U.S. Maritime Alliance, or USMX. He urged port employers to raise salaries, saying that the shipping industry's profits have increased since COVID-19.
Economists initially claimed the strike would not raise consumer prices, but they pointed out that if it had gone on longer, people would have seen an increase in the cost of goods.
Panic buying spreads accross the country from fear of store shortages potentially being caused by dock workers strike.
— Tom Graham (@tom2badcat24) October 3, 2024
Toilet paper, water & meat are the hot ticket items even though they are all sourced domestically.
People have been traumatized.#dockstrike pic.twitter.com/ExhnWI6Lnr
On Monday, the USMX offered a 50 percent pay increase over a six-year contract, which averages out to be about $3 extra per year on top of their current hourly base wage of $39. After the strike began, the union said it would have considered a Biden Administration proposal proposing a $4-an-hour wage increase. However, when USMX put a $3 raise on the table, the union reverted to its initial $5 an-hour request.