Dockworkers and employers on the East and Gulf Coasts had until Jan. 15 to reach a new agreement that settled differences over automation.

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 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.

US longshoremen reached a contract agreement with ports and shippers Wednesday, averting a potential strike that could have damaged the American economy. The International Longshoremen’s Association union and the US Maritime Alliance of ports and shipping companies said they had reached a tentative agreement for a six-year contract,

A union that represents thousands of workers on the East and Gulf coasts reached a tentative six-year agreement with their employers, according to a joint statement released on Wednesday

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

Negotiations aimed at heading off a new strike at the ports up and down America’s East and Gulf Coasts are set to resume Tuesday.

Thousands of port workers are threatening to go back on strike as the deadline approaches for a final agreement to be reached with the U.S. Maritime Alliance on a new contract. The same dockworkers who went on strike back in October are threatening a new strike if a deal is not