US dock workers go on strike after their contract expires

Longshoremen at major ports on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts went on strike Tuesday after last-minute negotiations failed to reach a new labor contract, a deadlock that is expected to impact the world's largest economy.

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) said its workers' strike was the first “coastwide strike in nearly 50 years.”

“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to endure the strike as long as possible, to get the wages and anti-automation protections that our ILA members deserve,” said Harold Daggett, the head of the 85,000-member union in an explanation.

The ILA said it “closed all ports from Maine to Texas at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday” after rejecting a final proposal from shipping group the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).

“USMX launched this strike when it decided to hold on to foreign ocean carriers that make billions of dollars in profits” without compensating “workers who do the work that makes them rich,” Daggett said.

USMX did not respond to a request for comment.

ILA members began picketing 14 major ports on the East and Gulf Coasts shortly after the announcement.

In Boston, longshoremen marched to the docks with signs reading “No work without a fair contract,” videos shared on social media showed.

CNN broadcast similar images from Philadelphia, while a New York Times video showed Daggett addressing workers on the picket line.

“We are making history,” he said in New Jersey as longshoremen held signs that read: “Profit over people is unacceptable.”

A possible suspension of play had been telegraphed for months, but the likelihood increased in recent weeks as the two sides described themselves as far apart.