Port Union Agrees to Suspend Strike

The International Longshoremen’s Association, the union that represents dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts, agreed Thursday to suspend a strike that closed down major ports after receiving an improved wage offer from employers.

The strike, which began Tuesday, threatened to weigh on the economy five weeks before national elections. Employers, represented by the U.S. Maritime Alliance, have offered to increase wages by 62% over the course of a new six-year contract, according to a person familiar with negotiations. That increase is lower than the union had initially asked for but much higher than the alliance’s earlier offer.

In a statement, the union said it had reached “a tentative agreement on wages” and would go back to work after extending its current contract until Jan. 15. It said it was returning to the “bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.