by NEW YORK — Multiple news agencies are reporting that East and Gulf Coast port workers have agreed to a deal on compensation, ending in three days what could have been a precarious logistics logjam between now and the end of the year.
The workers who had been on strike since Tuesday are reportedly returning to work Friday morning, Oct. 4.
According to CNBC, the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance have agreed to a tentative deal on wages and also have extended an existing contract — that previously ended Oct. 1 — through Jan. 15.
At least through the end of the year, the move will allow goods to flow through those regional ports, and thus avoid an overabundance of goods flowing through already busy West Coast ports. This will impact the furniture industry as many flow goods to the East Coast as an alternative, including during the busy furniture market season.
To what degree companies have already begun flowing goods to the West Coast to avoid delays in the critical weeks heading into the October High Point Market is unknown. However, a temporary end to the impasse likely has many breathing a collective sigh of relief.
President Biden offered the following statement on Thursday:
“I want to applaud the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance for coming together to reopen the East Coast and Gulf ports. Today’s tentative agreement on a record wage and an extension of the collective bargaining process represents critical progress towards a strong contract. I congratulate the dockworkers from the ILA, who deserve a strong contract after sacrificing so much to keep our ports open during the pandemic. And I applaud the port operators and carriers who are members of the U.S. Maritime Alliance for working hard and putting a strong offer on the table.”
“I want to thank the union workers, the carriers and the port operators for acting patriotically to reopen our ports and ensure the availability of critical supplies for Hurricane Helene recovery and rebuilding. Collective bargaining works, and it is critical to building a stronger economy from the middle out and the bottom up,” Biden added.
The extension does not guarantee that the parties will be able to negotiate on other issues such as port automation. However, they now have until Jan. 15, 2025, to reach an agreement on these issues, noted logistics services firm CV International.
“CV International continues to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates on any significant developments as needed,” the company said in a breaking news alert issued Thursday evening.
