NORFOLK, Va. — The International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance issued a joint statement Thursday saying a tentative deal has been reached, less than a week after the union's strike began.
Union members will return to work Friday after the union agreed to extend its contract with the Maritime Alliance to January 15 after it expired Monday.
The agreement includes an annual $4 per hour raise for the six-year contract.
Watch: ILA members demand better pay
An outstanding issue, according to the statement, is restrictions regarding the use of fully automated equipment in the workplace.
"Robots don't pay taxes and they don't put food on your table, so it's very important to protect these jobs," said Scott Cowan, the President of the ILA Local 333 chapter in Baltimore.
President Biden released a statement applauding the tentative agreement.
"Collective bargaining works and it is critical to building a stronger economy from the middle out and the bottom up," said Biden. "The next 90 days they're going to settle everything.”
The tentative deal still needs to be completed and ratified by ILA rank and file members before it's set in stone.
