Dockworkers’ union suspends strike until 2025 to negotiate new contract

A source tells AP that the union representing 45,000 striking US dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports has reached a deal to suspend their strike until Jan. 15 next year so that there’s time to negotiate a new contract

Dockworker Meikysha Wright and others strike outside the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth, Va., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (The Virginian-Pilot)

After three full days of a strike, the union representing 45,000 striking US dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports has reached a deal to suspend their strike action until Jan. 15, 2025, in order to provide time to negotiate a new contract, a source told the Associated Press.

Workers in the International Longshoremen’s Association will resume working immediately at least until January next year, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement has yet to be signed.

The news comes after shoppers have been stockpiling basic household goods such as toilet paper out of fear the strike would result in less availablity. The walkout raised the risk of shortages of goods on store shelves if it lasted more than a few weeks. But most retailers had stocked up or shipped items early in anticipation of the work stoppage.

Empty shelves are seen at a supermarket as shoppers scramble for remaining goods while nationwide dockworkers' strike disrupts supply chains in New Jersey, United States on October 02, 2024. (Anadolu/Getty)

The agreement will allow the union and the US Maritime Alliance, which represents the shippers and ports, time to negotiate a new six-year contract. The source who told AP about the deal also said both sides reached agreement on wage increases, but details weren’t available.

The union went on strike early Tuesday after its contract expired in a dispute over pay and the automation of tasks at the ports from Maine to Texas. The strike came at the peak of the holiday shopping season at 36 ports that handle about half the cargo from ships coming into and out of the United States.