The contract for dockworkers on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast has been extended for 30 days, averting, for now, a strike that could have begun Sunday: Federal mediators announced Friday morning that a temporary deal had been reached between the International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance. The deal adds a 30-day extension to talks between the two parties, averting a shutdown at the ports that oversee 45 percent of commerce, according to a Bloomberg report.