U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports were reopened on Friday after dockworkers and port operators reached a wage deal to settle the industry’s biggest work stoppage in nearly half a century.
Striking members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) have agreed to return to work for the time being.
At least 45 container vessels were anchored outside U.S. ports on Thursday as a massive strike by dockworkers stretching from Maine all the way to Texas entered its third day.
Dockworkers stretching all the way from the East and Gulf coasts went on strike after midnight on Tuesday, which could greatly cause an increase to inflation and cause production shortages for the start of the holiday season.
Boeing increased its wage offer to thousands of striking workers on Monday, offering a %30 general wage increase over four years in what the company called its “best and final” offer as the strike continues for a second week.
On Wednesday, Boeing’s CEO announced that the company will begin furloughing “a large number” of employees to limit spending during the strike by union machinists that began just a week ago.
Boeing employees walked off the job site at Boeing Factories near Seattle on Friday morning after union members voted to go on strike and reject a tentative contract that would have increased wages by 25% over a four-year span.
Boeing’s U.S. West Coast factory workers started voting on Thursday on a much-criticized new contract and a possible strike.