U.S. East and Gulf coast port employers represented by the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) reached a tentative deal with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union during contract negotiations on Jan. 8, averting a port strike that would have started after the Jan. 15 expiration of their contract, The Washington Post reported Jan. 8. The full scope of the tentative agreement has not been announced, but in a joint statement, ILA and USMX said the agreement ''protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coasts ports — making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong.''