Dockworkers at U.S. East and Gulf coast ports agreed on Thursday to start moving cargo again while they continue collective bargaining with their employers on a new contract.

The International Longshoremen’s Association said it had agreed to extend the contract until Jan. 15 and work will resume.

“The strike is over,” ILA Local 333 President Scott Cowan told CBS Baltimore affiliate, adding that dockworkers will be back at work Friday morning to load and unload cargo after a three-day work stoppage.

Cowan said the union has accepted an offer that would increase wages 61.5% over the new six-year contract, “and we’re going to have other language to protect us from automation worked out over the next few months and other issues that we need resolved.”

Container ports from Houston to Miami and up to Boston closed when the labor contract between the ILA and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents terminal operators and shipping lines, expired Tuesday.

California is putting an end to ‘sell by’ requirement on labels

California is the first state in the nation to ban food labels such as “sell by” or “best before” under a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The legislation is aimed at reducing both food waste and the state’s climate-warming emissions.

There are more than 50 different date labels on packaged food sold in stores, but the information is largely unregulated and does not relate to food safety. “Sell by” dates, for example, often act as a guide for stores to pull products from the shelf and not as an indicator of whether the product is still safe to consume.

The law is set to take effect in July 2026, establishing a new standard for food labeling in California. It will require the use of “Best if Used By” label to signal peak quality and a “Use By” label for product safety, an approach recommended by federal agencies. The law provides exemption for eggs, beer and other malt beverages.

Holiday hiring moving into full gear, but fewer workers expected

Retailers are ramping up hiring for the holiday season, but fewer seasonal employees are expected to be taken on this year to help customers in stores and assemble online orders in warehouses.

Amazon said Thursday it will hire 250,000 full, part-time and seasonal workers for the crucial shopping period. The e-commerce giant is hiring the same number of employees it did last year, similar to Bath & Body Works and Target, which said in September it planned to bring in roughly 100,000 seasonal employees and offer current employees the option to work extra hours during the holiday shopping period.

Meanwhile, the department store Kohl’s encouraged people to apply for positions but stayed mum on its plans, mirroring Walmart, which said it’s been hiring store associates throughout the year and will tap into its own staff when needed during the busy season.

Others have indicated they will scale back their holiday hiring. Macy’s said it would add more than 31,500 seasonal positions this year across its Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury stores, as well as its distribution centers. Last year, the company added 38,000.

Lilly weight-loss and diabetes drugs copycats dealt blow

Eli Lilly & Co.’s blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs are no longer considered to be in shortage in the U.S., threatening to upend the many knockoffs that became popular when patients couldn’t find the brand-name medicines.

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that the shortage of Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro is resolved. The agency added that there are “legal restrictions on making copies of FDA-approved drugs” when there isn’t a shortage.

The FDA first put the shortage classification in place at the end of 2022. That designation allowed compounding pharmacies to sell knockoff versions of the brand-name medicines — Mounjaro for diabetes, and Zepbound for obesity — without completing the same arduous testing process. These copycats have been widely available from medical spas and telehealth companies, often at a much lower cost.

The drugmaker said Wednesday that while all doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro are available, the supply chain for refrigerated medicines is complex and patients’ ability to find particular doses in pharmacies may still vary.

Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.