Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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                Shipping Firms, Dockworkers End US Ports Dispute

   by VOA News

   U.S. dockworkers and port operators have reached a tentative deal on a
   new labor contract, settling a dispute that disrupted the flow of cargo
   through 29 West Coast U.S. ports and snarled trade with Asia.

   The deal was reached late Friday and calls for restoring all port
   operations starting late Saturday.  The two sides must still reach a
   final agreement.

   In a joint statement, the president of the Pacific Maritime
   Association, James McKenna, and the president of the International
   Longshore and Warehouse Union, Bob McEllrath, said they are pleased to
   have reached a tentative deal that is good for dockworkers and the
   shipping industry.

   U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez oversaw four days of negotiations
   this week between the two sides in San Francisco ((in the western U.S.
   state of California)).

   The labor dispute, which began in July when a previous contract
   expired, tied up 29 West Coast ports for months and created a
   bottleneck for much of U.S. trade with Asia.  Those ports handle more
   than a quarter of all U.S. maritime trade and more than 70 percent of
   the nation's imports from Asia.

   Billions of dollars worth of cargo have been backed up, with large
   container ships remaining idle outside ports from southern California
   all the way north to the Canadian border.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-port-strike/2653035.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-port-strike/2653035.html