Dockworkers on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts have overwhelmingly approved a six-year contract, averting the threat of a strike that could have crippled the economy.

Over 45,000 U.S. dockworkers represented by the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) voted to ratify a new six-year contract on Tuesday, formalizing a deal which briefly stopped work at ports stretching from Maine to Texas in October.