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by Doyinsola Oladipo and David Shepardson
(Reuters) – Ports on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico began reopening after dockworkers and port operators reached a tentative wage deal on Thursday.
The agreement ends the largest dock workers’ strike in nearly fifty years in the United States, which prevented unloading and threatened shortages of products as varied as bananas and automobile parts.
At least 45 container ships that could not be unloaded anchored off ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico affected by the strike.
The strike affected 36 ports, including New York, Baltimore and Houston.
“It’s not just about managing ships already in the queue, but working very hard to reduce congestion before supply chains resume,” warned Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, to Reuters.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and port operators the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced the agreement late Thursday.
According to sources, they agreed to a pay increase of about 62 percent over six years, bringing average wages from $39 to $63 an hour.
Shares of shipping companies in Asia and Europe fell following the deal, with markets expecting the strike to trigger price hikes.
The ILA, which represents 45,000 port workers, launched its first major strike since 1977 on Tuesday after negotiations for a new six-year contract with the USMX failed.
(Written by Peter Henderson; French version Camille Raynaud and Kate Entringer)
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