(Reuters) - Over 45,000 U.S. dockworkers represented by the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) voted to ratify a new six-year contract on Tuesday, formalizing a deal which briefly stopped work at ports stretching from Maine to Texas in October.

Terms of the contract, previously agreed upon by the labor union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), included a 62% wage hike over the life of the agreement.

The new contract, which is retroactive to Oct. 1, 2024 and will be in effect until Sept. 30, 2030, boosts the hourly base rate for workers to $63 from $39, ranking longshoremen among the highest paid blue-collar workers in the country.

It accelerates wage raises for new ILA workers, strengthens healthcare plans and also increases employer contributions to retirement plans, while safeguarding workers from threats of increased automation.

ILA President Harold Daggett has said the new contract will cost employers an estimated $35 billion, "and that's a conservative estimate", he added.

"Our collective strength helped produce the richest contract in our history," he said in a video to the members of the union last week.

The ILA and USMX will formally sign the new contract on March 11, according to a Facebook post by the union on Tuesday.