Dock workers and employers at East and Gulf Coast ports have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, avoiding a strike that could have restarted next week after it was delayed in October.

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents port operators and shipping companies, said late Wednesday that the new six-year contract is a "win-win agreement." They said it will create new jobs, support consumers and businesses, and "keeps the American economy the key hub of the global marketplace."

Agreement Seen Creating Jobs While 'Modernizing' Ports

"This 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," the sides said.

The tentative agreement comes after a three-day strike in October halted activity across a number of ports before the White House stepped in and got the sides to agree to suspend the work stoppage until Jan. 15, after the busy holiday shipping season. Estimates for the economic impact of a port strike have ranged from hundreds of millions to $5 billion per day.

The terms of the agreement aren't being released until the employers and union members have a chance to review and vote on it. The Wall Street Journal reported after the October strike that the delay came with an agreement on a 62% raise over the next six years, and reported Wednesday that union officials pushed to not lose jobs to automation.