Tentative Deal Averts a ILA East Coast Port Strike Tentative Deal Averts a Port Strike By

Tentative Deal Averts a ILA East Coast Port Strike Tentative Deal Averts a Port Strike By
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: February 2, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/business/dockworkers-reach-tentative-d... WASHINGTON (AP) —
Port operators along the East Coast have reached a tentative deal on a new contract with the union for longshoremen, averting a possible strike that would have crippled operations at 15 ports, according to a federal mediator. The deal was announced late Friday in a statement from George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Mr. Cohen, who has been leading the talks since last year, said the agreement was subject to ratification by both parties and to additional local union negotiations. But he said the local talks would continue without the threat of interrupting port operations. Mr. Cohen declined to offer any details on the deal. Both sides have been in intense negotiations since the previous contract ended in September. The parties initially postponed the deadline to reach a deal for 90 days, then postponed it again until Dec. 31. Just before the end of 2012, the parties resolved a thorny issue involving royalty payments made to union members for each container unloaded. They extended the deadline on the rest of the issues until Feb. 6. Ports that would have been frozen in a strike included the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Savannah, Ga.; Houston; and Hampton Roads, Va.