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Tentative deal includes a 62% wage hike over six

years-source

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Strike affected 36 ports, causing backlog of anchored

ships

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Biden administration sided with union, resisted calls to

halt

strike

By Doyinsola Oladipo, David Shepardson

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - U.S. dock

workers and port operators have reached a tentative deal that

will immediately end a three-day strike that has shut down

shipping on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast, the

International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union and the

United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) said on Thursday.

The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62% over

six years, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The

workers union had been seeking a 77% raise while the employer

group previously raised its offer to a nearly 50% hike.

The deal ends the

Both sides said in a statement that they would extend their

master contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the

bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues.

"Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease

and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume," the

statement said.

At least 45 container vessels that have been unable to

unload were anchored outside the strike-hit East Coast and Gulf

Coast ports by Wednesday, up from just three before the strike

began on Sunday, according to Everstream Analytics.

The ILA launched the strike by 45,000 port workers, its

first major work stoppage since 1977, on Tuesday after talks for

a new six-year contract broke down.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has sided with the

union, putting pressure on the port employers to raise their

offer to secure a deal and citing the shipping industry's bumper

profits since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The administration repeatedly resisted calls from business trade

groups and Republican lawmakers to use federal powers to halt

the strike - a move that would undermine Democratic support

among unions ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The strike affected 36 ports - including New York, Baltimore and

Houston - that handle a range of containerized goods.

Economists have said the port closures would not initially raise

consumer prices because companies had accelerated shipments in

recent months of key goods. However, a prolonged stoppage would

have eventually filtered through, with food prices likely to

react first, according to Morgan Stanley economists.

"After the first week, we can expect some impact on

perishable products like bananas, other fruits, seafood, and

coffee, meaning fewer goods are reaching consumers, potentially

driving up prices," said Tony Pelli, global practice director

for security & resilience at BSI Americas.