Dockworkers on the East and Gulf Coasts of the U.S. are on strike as of midnight Tuesday.
Union members walked off the job in the first large-scale work stoppage in nearly 50 years after contract negotiations broke down over wages and other issues. Analysts warn the disruption will cost the economy billions of dollars a day, threaten jobs, and stoke inflation.
Representing 45-thousand port workers, the International Longshoremen's Association had been negotiating with the United States Maritime Alliance for a new six-year contract.
Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday issued the following statement on the ILA strike saying in part, “at a time when families across the country are struggling to afford the rising cost of goods and as several Southeastern states are reeling from a devastating hurricane, the ILA is showing their true colors. They have chosen to hold hostage our economy, American consumers and its own workers they claim to support.”
White House officials hope for a short strike, but President Biden has said he will not use federal powers to force dockworkers to remain on the job.
