US Dock Workers Strike Ends, Easing Local Supply Chain Concerns

The United States dock workers strike has reportedly been suspended after stevedores and port workers had downed tools for the past three days, easing supply chain concerns for Bermuda.

The union representing 45,000 employees at East and Gulf Coast ports reached a deal Thursday to suspend the strike until January 15 to provide time to formalise a new contract.

The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, is to resume working immediately.
The temporary end to the strike came after the union and the US Maritime Alliance, representing ports and shipping companies, reached a tentative agreement on wages, the union and ports said in a joint statement.

The action brings at least a temporary halt to a crippling three-day strike that halted shipping operations on the coasts, thus threatening the supply of consumer goods to Bermuda.

The deal promises to restore shipping operations immediately. The tentative agreement includes a 62 per cent wage increase over six years, according to reports. For dock workers this translates into an increase in average wages from $39 an hour to approximately $63 an hour throughout the contract’s duration.

ILA had initially sought an increase of 77%, while USMX had offered nearly a 50% raise before reaching the potential new deal.

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