The yes vote was expected after the leadership of the International Longshoremen's Association union reached a tentative contract agreement in January with the U.S. Maritime Alliance of ports and shipping companies.
The contract calls for a 62% pay hike over six years that would lift hourly wages at the top of the union pay scale from $39 an hour to $63 an hour.
The alliance approved the contract last month, and on Tuesday rank-and-file members voted for it with nearly 99 percent in favor, the union said in a statement.
“The pending contract opens the door a little more for advanced technology and automation,” Brian Lynch, leader of the transportation sector at the consulting firm EY Americas, said before the vote.
Claiming to “know just about everything there is to know” about automation, Trump wrote on social media, “The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen.”.
