The union representing 45,000 dock workers on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and their employers on Wednesday said they reached a tentative deal on a new six-year contract, averting further strikes that could have snarled supply chains and taken a toll on the U.

Automation was at the center of a long-running labor dispute that threatened to close East and Gulf Coast ports.

Dockworkers represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association negotiated to avoid a second port strike in a matter of months.

The United States Maritime Alliance and International Longshoremen's Association reached a deal on a contract Wednesday night avoiding a strike that could have shut down ports up and down the East Coast and crippled the U.

The longshoreman’s union was threatening a work stoppage that could have frozen East and Gulf Coast ports days before President-elect Trump took office.

The International Longshoremen's Association reached an agreement Wednesday on a new master labor contract with the United States Maritime Alliance, averting a strike at U.S. east coast and gulf coast ports.