More than 45,000 dockworkers at 14 ports from New Jersey to Texas went on strike today after talks between the International Longshoremen's Association union and United States Maritime Alliance failed to result in a contract.
The Longshoremen's contract expired Sept. 30.
West Coast dockworkers were not involved in the strike as they belong to a different union.
Dockworkers, the Associated Press reports, are seeking a 77% pay increase over the life of the six-year contract and are seeking to limit the use of automation. This marks the first coastal-wide strike by the union since 1977.
Whitney Luckett, president of supply chain solutions firm Simko North America L.L.C., noted that the impacts of the strike are far reaching, particularly if it drags on for days or weeks.