Port Strike Suspended As Parties Come To Tentative Agreement

The East and Gulf Coast port strike that threatened to snarl wine and spirits supply chains in the U.S. has come to an end, with workers for the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) agreeing to suspend the strike in a tentative deal with the United States Maritime Alliance. The ILA extended its current contract up to January 15 to allow more time to negotiate a longer-term accord, with CNBC reporting that ILA wages could rise 61.5% over six years under the tentative deal. The news comes as a relief to not only wine and spirits importers but operators across various industries, with daily economic losses from the strike estimated at hundreds of millions into the billions of dollars.—Daniel Marsteller

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