Longshoremen, Ports Reach Agreement, Federal Mediator Says

The International Longshoremen’s Union and port operators at East and Gulf coast ports have approved an agreement that clears the way for ratification of a six-year labor pact, a federal mediator said late Wednesday.

The agreement between the ILA and the U.S. Maritime Alliance follows a previous tentative accord between the parties last month that averted a potential strike at 15 ports from Maine to Texas.

Those ports cover about 45% of U.S. waterborne trade and generate an average of 30,000 truck shipments daily.

“The parties have successfully concluded lengthy, complex and understandably sometimes contentious negotiations concerning a multitude of economic and job-related issues,” Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director George Cohen said in a statement.

The FMCS is an independent U.S. government agency. Cohen helped negotiate an agreement late last year that ended a six-day strike at Southern California ports.