Strike over automation fears shuts down operations at 36 ports across the US

Union dockworkers from Maine to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation, halting the movement of billions of dollars worth of goods, ABC News reported. 

Picketing from the East Coast to the Gulf Coast began shortly after midnight, following unsuccessful negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), the body overseeing ocean carriers and port operators, over a new contract. The strike, if it continues, could cause supply shortages and increase the price of goods.

The last dock worker contract, which expired on Tuesday at midnight, was between the ports and 45,000 members of the ILA. The strike, the first by the union since 1977, is presently affecting operations at 36 ports, according to ABC News.

"USMX brought on this strike when they decided to hold firm to foreign-owned Ocean Carriers earning billion-dollar profits at United States ports, but not compensate the American ILA longshore workers who perform the labor that brings them their wealth,” ILA President Harold Daggett said in a statement, NPR reported.

Workers picketing at the Port of Philadelphia started marching in a circle at a rail crossing outside the port, chanting: “No work without a fair contract.” Meanwhile, the union displayed messages on the side of a truck that read, “Automation Hurts Families: ILA Stands For Job Protection.”