Update: Dock Workers Back on the Job

Striking union longshoremen at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports are back on the job, report a variety of news sources, including CNBC.com. The two sides in the dispute – The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance – have agreed to a tentative deal on wages, and to extend their existing contract until after the New Year (Jan. 15) to provide time to negotiate other issues.

The move ends a strike that had snarled ports since the beginning of the week and threatened U.S. supply of fruits, automobiles and other goods, CNBC notes.

ILA workers’ wages will increase 61.5% over six years under the tentative agreement, sources told CNBC.

As reported previously on Shop!, about 50,000 union longshoremen walked off the job at East and Gulf coasts ports at just after midnight on Oct. 1. The walkout – which centered mainly on higher wages and protections against automation – was the union’s first strike since 1977.