US East Coast dock workers strike disrupts shipping

Dock workers on the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States went on strike on Tuesday, disrupting about half of the country’s shipping traffic, after negotiations on a new labor contract collapsed over a pay dispute.

The strike will disrupt the flow of goods from food to car shipments through dozens of ports from Maine to Texas, which analysts warn will cost the economy billions of dollars a day, threaten jobs and stoke inflation, according to Reuters.

The International Dock Workers Union, which represents 45,000 dockworkers, is negotiating with the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents employers, on a new six-year contract ahead of a midnight Sept. 30 deadline.

The union said in statements issued on Sunday and Monday that the strike would go ahead starting at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday.