Thousands of containers filled with products waiting to be imported into New York and New Jersey ports will begin to be unloaded starting at 7 p.m. Friday and continue into the weekend, says Port Authority of New York and New Jersey port director Bethann Rooney.

“Since the agreement was reached last night, it’s been all hands on deck to reopen the port and restart the flow of cargo,” Deputy Port Director Beth Rooney said at a Friday afternoon briefing.

A three-day strike that halted shipping at 36 U.S. ports along the East and Gulf coasts ended Thursday with a deal for dockworkers.

Automation has also cropped up in other port labor disputes in the U.S. and Canada that have shaken global trade, stretching from Los Angeles to Vancouver.

International Longshoreman's Association President Harold Daggett is against automation, and condemned EZPass automated tolls and self-checkouts in a recent interview.

A week ago, few outside the labor movement or shipping industry knew Harold Daggett, the tough-talking, colorful head of the union now on strike at ports along the East and Gulf Coasts.