Dockworkers from New England to Texas walked off the job just after midnight Tuesday, upending parts of the U.S. supply chain weeks before the election.
Tens of thousands of workers struck after the International Longshoremen’s Association and the shipping industry could not reach a new contract after their last six-year deal expired. Their absence means cargo can’t be unloaded at ports all across the Eastern Seaboard and the Gulf Coast.
Even a short strike is likely to send shock waves through the economy. A prolonged one is politically perilous for Democrats up and down the ballot, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who may be forced to choose between their labor allies and a fully functioning economy.
“Nothing is going to move without us,” ILA International President Harold Daggett told dockworkers in New Jersey in a video posted by the union on Facebook .
The U.S. Maritime Alliance, the shipping industry coalition also known as USMX, had no immediate comment.
Analysts from JPMorgan have estimated the costs of strike-related closures could climb as high as $5 billion per day. A stoppage could also bring knock-on effects, including for truckers and warehouse workers who could see less work.