- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
- Supercharged storms: how climate change amplifies cyclones
- Biden official urges talks as US port strike enters second day
BCC | 0.14% | 138.49 | $ | |
SCS | 2.17% | 12.9 | $ | |
BCE | -0.16% | 33.785 | $ | |
NGG | -0.72% | 66.49 | $ | |
BP | 0.99% | 32.785 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.24% | 24.68 | $ | |
GSK | 0.62% | 38.611 | $ | |
RBGPF | -3.17% | 58.93 | $ | |
BTI | 0.35% | 35.235 | $ | |
JRI | -0.23% | 13.27 | $ | |
RIO | -0.21% | 69.685 | $ | |
RELX | -1.04% | 46.13 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.27% | 24.822 | $ | |
AZN | -0.65% | 77.425 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.98 | $ | |
VOD | -0.31% | 9.66 | $ |
US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
Thousands of dockworkers returned to work Friday, the day after a longshoremen's union reached a preliminary deal with shippers, ending a three-day strike weeks before the US presidential election.
At the Port of Mobile in the southern state of Alabama, on the Gulf Coast, terminal operator APM resumed operations at 7 am local time (1200 GMT), the company said online.
The Port of Virginia in Norfolk on the East Coast said it will reopen Saturday, planning "extended weekend gate hours" for terminal operators.
"We ask that our motor carrier partners be patient," the port said.
At the giant Port of New York and New Jersey, the second-largest container port in the United States after Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Port Liberty terminal in Bayonne plans to resume work on Monday morning.
The staggered reopening covers US ports from Maine to Texas following Thursday night's preliminary agreement between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). Workers had walked out Tuesday morning with the expiration of their contract.
The parties "reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025," said a joint statement.
"Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume."
The strike was the first involving these ports since 1977.
Talks between the two sides had been dormant for months. But negotiations resumed Monday as the contract's expiration deadline approached.
In recent days, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and other Biden administration officials urged the parties to hash out differences and called on USMX to boost its offer.
- Wage hikes -
The stoppage involved some 45,000 workers at 36 facilities.
The contract pertained only to 14 large ports, including New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, Savannah, Miami and Houston. However, additional workers at ILA-represented facilities in the region joined the stoppage.
The talks centered on wages and ILA efforts to prevent job loss due to automation. ILA leaders argued that a big wage hike was merited after dockworkers kept the economy running during the pandemic, boosting shipper profits.
The tentative agreement pertains to wages and extends the contract to January 15, 2025.
"The two sides have agreed to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues," said the joint statement.
It did not offer terms of the deal, but The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the matter, said USMX had proposed a 62 percent salary increase over six years, allowing the deal to be reached.
US President Joe Biden had been under pressure to intervene in negotiations to keep ports open, but had demurred, citing respect for collective bargaining rights. He praised both sides for resolving the matter, citing the need to "ensure the availability of critical supplies for Hurricane Helene recovery and rebuilding," a White House statement said.
Outside the White House late Thursday, Biden said, "They've got the next 90 days, they are going to settle everything."
Analysts had cautioned that, with the November 5 presidential election nearing, a lengthy strike could have posed a major headwind to the US economy, leading to shortages of some items and lifting costs at a time when inflation has been moderating.
Shipping companies forced to reroute their vessels had planned to apply surcharges for each container: $1,000 each for German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, and $800 to $1,500 for France's CMA CGM, according to German logistics platform Container xChange.
Oxford Economics said it doesn't plan to update its economic forecast in light of the quick resolution of the strike.
"The port strike ended fairly quickly, removing any significant downside risk to the economy this quarter," said the Oxford note.
"It will take a little time to work through any backlogs that developed during the strike, but any lost output that occurred during the strike will be made up through the remainder of this quarter, therefore no change to our forecast for Q4 GDP is needed."
D.Avraham--CPN