Until Jan. 15, workers will be covered under the old contract, which expired on Sept. 30. Because this is a temporary suspension of the strike, the ILA’s membership won’t vote until a complete new master contract is agreed to by the union and port companies.

While a 62% hike in wages is unprecedented, it is more than justified considering the international conglomerates make billions of dollars charging customers up to $30,000 for shipping goods in containers. The cost used to be $6,000 per container. Entry level wages start at just $20 an hour for operating multimillion-dollar container-handling equipment. Two-thirds of ILA members are constantly on call, with no guaranteed employment if ships are not available for work. It takes six years to reach the top wage in a job that is dangerous and requires dockworkers to toil long hours in all kinds of weather.

On the picket line in Philadelphia, over several days of the first ILA strike since 1977, dockworkers told Workers World that automation was the biggest issue. Wage increases wouldn’t be as relevant if automation reduces hours or kicks workers out of their jobs

On Oct. 4, after celebrating the cessation of having to walk picket lines for long hours, some workers wondered if returning to work until after the holidays and giving the shipping companies a three-month head start prior to the next possible strike was ceding a lot of leverage. That remains to be seen.