The union representing 45,000 striking US dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports reached a deal Thursday to suspend a three-day strike until January 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract, sources said Thursday, AP reports.

The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, is to resume working immediately.

The temporary end to the strike came after the union and the US Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, reached a tentative agreement on wages, the union and ports said in a joint statement

A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about 50% over six years to 62%.

But the agreement is tentative.

Any wage increase would have to be approved by union members as part of the ratification of a final contract.

The union went on strike early Tuesday after its contract expired in a dispute over pay and the automation of tasks at 36 ports stretching from Maine to Texas.