The union representing 45,000 striking longshoremen at ports in the eastern United States and the Gulf Coast reached an agreement to suspend his three-day strike until January 15 to allow time to negotiate a new contract, a person familiar with the matter said.
The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, will resume work immediately. Both sides also reached an agreement on wages, but no details were released at this time, according to a joint statement from the ports and the union issued Thursday afternoon.
The union went on strike early Tuesday after its contract expired amid a pay dispute and the automation of work at ports from Maine to Texas.
The strike came at the peak of the holiday shopping season at 36 ports, which handle about half of the cargo of ships entering and leaving the United States.
The strike posed the risk of product shortages in stores if it lasted for a few weeks. But most retailers had enough items in inventory or had shipped products ahead of time in anticipation of the strike.
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