PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The sprawling terminals of the Port of Virginia will sit mostly idle until an agreement can be reached that’ll send thousands of longshoremen back to work.
By Monday at 6 p.m., towering cranes at both Virginia International Gateway and Norfolk International Terminal stood secured over the edge of empty berths, gates letting railroads onto the property were locked up and rumble of trucks could not be heard.
The Port of Virginia looked much a ghost town.
Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas go on strike, a standoff risking new shortages
The reason? The expiration of a contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance at midnight, Oct. 1.
While the union for 45,000 dockworkers and the group representing East and Gulf Coast ports have exchanged wage offers after weeks of gridlock, a work stoppage is now in effect.
International Longshoremen’s Association members at the Port of Virginia’s Virginia International Gateway could be seen on strike just after midnight Tuesday.