Port Strike Averted as Negotiation Deadline Extended

A deadline to negotiate a new labor contract for workers at ports on the East Coast and Gulf has been extended, averting a potential strike that could have disrupted shipments headed for trade shows and other events starting Oct. 1. Working with federal mediators, the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance now have until Dec. 29 to ratify a new labor agreement, and both sides have agreed to continue negotiating. A work stoppage would have affected 14 U.S. ports between Maine and Texas and would have been the first strike at those locations in 35 years. truckinginfo.com