Longshoremen strike at ports on the East and Gulf Coasts

Unionized longshoremen Early Tuesday, 36 ports on the East and Gulf Coasts went on strike as negotiations over a new contract with a group representing port employers reached an impasse.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), which represents 45,000 longshoremen, began its first strike since 1977 following its six-year contract with the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents it Employer in the portExpired Monday evening.

Negotiations between the ILA and USMX over the union’s demands for wage increases and compensation as well as protection from automation at ports have so far been deadlocked.

The ILA has said it will exempt cruise ships and military supplies from the strike and continue to process them to prevent disruption to travelers’ schedules and national security.

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The longshoremen’s strike will impact ports on the East and Gulf Coasts. (Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

USMX reportedly made a new offer to the ILA on Monday afternoon that included a nearly 50% increase in wages over the new contract, as well as a threefold increase Employer contributions to pension plansbetter healthcare and keeping language about automation in the agreement. Sources told FOX Business that ILA rejected the offer and provided nothing in return.

The strike came after USMX filed an unfair labor conditions complaint against the ILA with the National Labor Relations Board last week, arguing that the group violated labor laws by refusing to negotiate. The ILA criticized the move as a “publicity stunt” and said USMX should file labor complaints against port employers for not paying better wages to port workers.

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Port employers and unionized port workers found themselves at an impasse in negotiations Monday evening. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

U.S. seaports from Maine to Texas will be affected by the strike. Together, these ports process about half of it US imports and are also important hubs for American companies’ exports.

Imports of cars and car parts, agricultural products such as bananas, machinery, manufactured steel, furniture, clothing and much more will be affected. East and Gulf Coast ports In addition, significant proportions of exported cars and auto parts, pharmaceutical products, beef and pork, poultry, eggs, wood, plastics and other products or goods are handled.

A JP Morgan analysis estimated that the daily cost of a port strike by longshoremen on the East and Gulf Coasts would cost the U.S. economy between $3.8 billion and $4.5 billion per day as operations slow.

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The U.S. economy could suffer losses of more than $5 billion a day if the port strike continues. (Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

President Bidenwhose government has sought to facilitate talks between the two sides has said it will not use federal labor law called the Taft-Hartley Act to intervene in the strike. Under that law, Biden could take action that would result in an 80-day “cooling off” period for resuming negotiations while workers are back at work.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest trade group representing American companies, urged Biden in a letter to turn to Taft-Hartley to “protect our economy” by avoiding a work stoppage.

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“Taft-Hartley would give both negotiating parties time to reach an agreement on a new employment contract,” Chamber President Suzanne Clark wrote Monday. “Significant differences remain between USMX and ILA regarding a new contract that cannot be resolved before the current one expires today.”

FOX Business’ Daniel Hillsdon contributed to this report.