U.S. dockworkers agreed to return to work after port operators sweetened their contract offer, ending a three-day strike that threatened to disrupt the American economy. The breakthrough Thursday came after port employers offered a 62% increase in wages over six years,

By Doyinsola Oladipo and David Shepardson NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. dock workers and port operators have reached a tentative deal that will immediately end a crippling three-day strike that has shut down shipping on the U.

Many ports along the East and Gulf coasts were shut down, threatening the country’s supply chains, after unionized port workers went on strike on Tuesday. But those workers will return to work after reaching a tentative agreement on wages with the group representing port employers.