East Coast longshore workers with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are returning to work after three raucous days on the picket lines. They received a promise of a $24-an-hour pay raise over six years, bringing top pay from $39 to $63.

The strike paralyzed shipping in huge port complexes like Newark, Houston, and Charleston, stopping loads of fruit, vehicles, and heavy equipment. It was the first coastwide strike for the ILA since 1977.

The sides will return to bargaining on the other big issue of the strike, automation, extending the old agreement to January 15. The longshore union negotiates with a consortium of shippers and terminal operators known as the US Maritime Alliance, or USMX.