Tentative deal suspends strike, work can resume at Boston’s port [Video]

Ports across the Gulf and East Coasts, including Boston’s Conley Container Terminal, are reopening Friday following an agreement to suspend the strike that forced them to close for three days. The International Longshoremen’s Association went on strike early Tuesday after its contract expired in a dispute over pay and the automation of tasks at 36 ports stretching from Maine to Texas. The group is suspending its three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract.The strike came at the peak of the holiday shopping season at the ports, which handle about half the cargo from ships coming into and out of the United States.”Prices of everything would’ve shot up because you’re taking capacity out of the maritime market,” said Prof. Yossi Sheffi, director of MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics. The union agreed to resume working immediately after reaching a tentative agreement on wages with the …