Mediator: Port workers' contracts extended 30 days

• Tentative labor agreement averts East Coast port strike
• Deal includes agreement on container royalties
• Both sides agree to 30-day extension to negotiate other issues

A threatened dockworkers strike that could have shut down Eastern ports from Maine to Texas has been averted as both sides in the labor dispute agreed to a tentative settlement, a federal mediator announced Friday.

The International Longshoremen's Association and United States Maritime Alliance reached agreement on the key issue of container royalties, a supplemental payment to union workers based on the weight of cargo received at each port, George Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, said in a formal statement.

The two sides also agreed to an additional, 30-day extension — until midnight on Jan. 28 — to negotiate all remaining issues, Cohen said.

Terms of the agreement were not immediately made public because the two sides are continuing to negotiate.

"What I can report is that the agreement on this important subject represents a major positive step toward achieving an overall collective bargaining agreement," said Cohen, who brought the sides together Thursday for an 11th hour mediation session. "While some significant issues remain in contention, I am cautiously optimistic that they can be resolved in the upcoming 30-day extension period."