Deal Reached to Avert Second East, Gulf Coast Port Strike [Video]

By Ryan Hanrahan

Reuters Lisa Baertlein reported Wednesday that “the union representing 45,000 dock workers on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and their employers on Wednesday said they reached a tentative deal on a new six-year contract, averting further strikes that could have snarled supply chains and taken a toll on the U.S. economy.”

“The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group, in a joint statement, called the agreement a ‘win-win.’ The deal includes a resolution in automation, which had been the thorniest issue on the table,” Baertlein reported. “‘This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coast ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong,’ the groups said.”

“Terms of the deal were not disclosed,” Baertlein reported. “ILA and USMX have agreed …