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Nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) went on strike against the country’s East and Gulf Coast ports on Tuesday, choking the flow of many of the country’s imports and exports in what is America’s most disruptive event, according to the union. could result in a work stoppage. in decades.

The strike, which was also confirmed by the Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey and the Port of Virginia, began at midnight. There appears to be a wide gap between the union’s demands and the offer of the United States Maritime Alliance, which uses the acronym USMX. The maritime alliance represents the major shipping lines, all of which are foreign-owned; as well as terminal operators and port authorities.

The strike will halt the flow of a wide variety of goods through the docks of nearly all cargo ports from Maine to Texas. This includes everything from bananas to European beer, wine and spirits, along with furniture, clothing, household goods and European cars, as well as parts needed to keep American factories running and American workers employed in those factories. It could also stop U.S. exports now flowing through these ports, hurting sales for U.S. companies.

“USMX initiated this strike when they decided to stand their ground against foreign-owned ocean-going vessels making billions in profits in the ports of the United States, but not compensate the American ILA longshore workers who perform the work that earns them their wealth,” said ILA President Harold. Daggett, in a statement released an hour after the strike began. “We are prepared to fight for as long as necessary, to continue to strike for any period of time, to get the wages and protection from automation that our ILA members deserve.”

The USMX did not respond to requests for comment on the start of the strike.

Depending on the duration of the strike, this could lead to shortages of consumer and industrial goods, which could then lead to price increases. It could also be a setback for the economy, which is showing signs of recovery after the pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions led to a spike in inflation.

The ports involved include the ports of New York and New Jersey, the third largest port in the country in terms of cargo volumes handled. It also includes ports with other specialties.

Port Wilmington, Delaware describes itself as the nation’s premier banana port, bringing in much of America’s favorite fruit. According to the American Farm Bureau, 1.2 million tons of bananas are coming through the affected ports, which amounts to about a quarter of the country’s bananas.

Other perishable products, such as cherries, also pass through the ports, as do a large percentage of imported wine, beer and spirits. Raw materials used by U.S. food manufacturers, such as cocoa and sugar, also make up a large portion of affected imports.

And many non-perishable goods, such as furniture and appliances, are also imported through the affected ports. Retailers have rushed in recent months to get the imported products they expect to sell during the holidays delivered to them before the Oct. 1 strike deadline.

This is the first strike at these ports since 1977. While the union says there are about 50,000 members covered by the contract, the USMX estimates the number of port jobs is closer to 25,000, with not enough jobs for all workers in the union to work. every day.

The USMX has complained that the union is not negotiating in good faith, saying the two sides have not met in person since June. The USMX said Monday it had increased its offer for raises by more than 50% over the proposed six-year contract, but a person familiar with the negotiations said that offer had been rejected by the union. The ILA does not discuss its demands publicly, but at the start of the weekend it reportedly asked for annual pay increases that would result in pay increases totaling 77% over the life of the contract, with the top wage increasing from $39 per hour to $69 .

There are also disputes between the union and management over the use of automation at the ports, which the union says could cost some members their jobs. The USMX said it is offering to maintain the same contract language for the use of automation.

The union says it has continued to talk to the USMX, just not in face-to-face negotiations. Before the strike, management said that management knows what it demands to get a deal done and that any strike would be management’s fault, not the union’s. It says its demands are reasonable given the level of profits in the shipping sector.

Daggett, wearing a sweatshirt with the words “The Docks are Ours,” addressed the strikers outside the Port of New York and New Jersey, in a video posted to an ILA Facebook page.

‘I want to tell you that everything you do is good. This will go down in history, what we are doing here,” he said. He recalled the union’s last strike, when he and other union members went on strike for three months to earn an extra 80 cents an hour.

“Now they’re making billions and billions of dollars off the pandemic while we were all working. Who are the greedy here?” he said. “We’re going to show them… because without us, nothing will move.”

Shipping costs soared during and immediately after the pandemic, as supply chains contracted and demand soared. According to analyst John McCown, industry profits totaled more than $400 billion between 2020 and 2023, which is believed to be more than the industry has earned in total since containerization began in 1957.

Standing on the sidelines and watching with great concern companies that depend on the movement of goods.

More than 200 business groups sent a letter to the White House last week asking the Biden administration to intervene to prevent a strike, saying the country is dependent on moving both imports and exports through these ports.

“The last thing the supply chain, businesses and workers… need is a strike or other disruption due to ongoing labor negotiations,” the letter said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a follow-up letter Monday urging President Joe Biden to exercise powers under the so-called Taft-Hartley Act, which was enacted in 1947, to keep the ports open and the longshoremen to keep working. President George W. Bush applied the law in 2002 to end an 11-day lockout of union members at West Coast ports.

But Biden told reporters on Sunday that he does not plan to use the powers he has under Taft-Hartley.

“No,” Biden said. “Because it’s collective bargaining, and I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley.”

It’s also not clear whether simply ordering union members to return to work would actually allow cargo to move through the port.

There are numerous ways the workers can slow down the flow of freight while strictly following the rules of the current contract. In a video posted in early September, the ILA’s Daggett said that if members were forced back to work, they would likely move only a small portion of their normal freight volume.

“Do you think that when (members) go back to work, those guys will work on that pier?” he said in the video message. “It will cost the companies money to pay their salaries, while it goes from thirty moves per hour to perhaps eight.”

The shipping companies will realize the problem if Biden orders the union to return to work, said Peter Tirschwell, vice president of global intelligence and analytics at S&P Global Market Intelligence and chairman of the TPM shipping conference.

“An experienced ocean liner man told me yesterday, ‘If they are forced back to work, they could make life miserable for everyone,’” he told CNN last week.

This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.