(Reuters) -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 a strike that could have snarled supply chains and taken a toll on the U.S. economy.

It would have been the second strike in just four months by U.S. dock workers. The tentative agreement did not, however, include terms on the use of automation, which has been the thorniest issue of the labor talks.

The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), in a joint statement, called the agreement a “win-win.”

“This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coast ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong,” the groups said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The two sides extended talks until Jan. 15 to hammer a deal on automation. Shipping industry executives were concerned that the parties would not be able to overcome their impasse, leading to a second ILA strike just days before President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

A three-day ILA strike in October triggered a surge in shipping prices and cargo backlogs at the 36 affected ports. Longshoremen returned to work after employers agreed to a 62% wage increase over the next six years.

ILA and USMX have agreed to continue operating under the current contract until the union can meet with its full Wage Scale Committee and schedule a ratification vote, and USMX members can ratify the terms of the final contract.

(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Leslie Adler)

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