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

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.

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.

The dockworker union that brought half of US container trade to a halt last October has voted to ratify a new labor contract with their port and ocean carrier employers.

Workers at East and Gulf Coast ports who went on strike briefly in October ratified a deal that includes a 62 percent raise over six years.