Trump credited with US port deal that may shape future talks

A tentative labor deal forestalled potentially damaging trade disruptions at three-dozen US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports, with both sides in the talks crediting President-elect Donald Trump for clearing the way for them to hammer out a deal on automation.

The success of the International Longshoremen's Association in winning Trump's support for its anti-automation battle could be instructive for unions facing contract renewals during his term, including the United Auto Workers, UPS Teamsters and the US West Coast's International Longshore Warehouse Union.

The deal, announced on Wednesday night, must be ratified by some 45,000 members of ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group.

"This is a six-year détente in the tech-versus-labor tug-of-war at US ports," said Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, a freight-booking and payments platform.

It landed days before an extended January 15 deadline, averting a second strike that could have put a huge dent in the economy at the start of Trump's second term on January 20.

Father-and-son ILA leaders Harold and Dennis Daggett late on Wednesday called Trump a hero to the union and gave him "full credit" for the resolution of talks.

They pointed to a social media post in mid-December, where Trump appeared to side with the union's struggle against "foreign" employers after meeting with those ILA leaders.

"I've studied automation and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our longshoremen," Trump wrote.

The employer group, which includes Maersk's APM Terminals and the US arms of major container carriers such as China's COSCO Shipping, said the agreement came "thanks in large part to President Trump's leadership."

The ILA and USMX extended their bargaining deadline after a deadlock over automation sparked a three-day strike in October at major ports including New York and New Jersey, Houston and Savannah, Georgia. Workers won a 62 per cent raise over six years, which ended the October strike.

Biden praised both the union and employers for reaching a tentative deal on Wednesday. Trump has not commented on social media and his transition team did not immediately comment.

Seeing the future?

In a prescient move, Teamsters President Sean O'Brien - who negotiated the last contract for members at United Parcel Service - notched a union first by speaking at the Republican National Convention, where he praised Trump's toughness.

The Teamsters also broke with tradition and did not endorse a US presidential candidate last year, despite overwhelming support for Trump among its members. The UPS contract expires in 2028, Trump's final year in office.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)