A strike would be the biggest disruption to the flow of goods in and out of the country since the height of the pandemic. Even a short-lived work stoppage would snarl shipping and create havoc in supply chains for weeks. Cargo ranging from cars to electronics, from food to furniture, would be stuck on ships offshore. Each day a strike lasts could cost the U.S. economy up to $1 billion, according to analysts.
Thousands of longshoremen at ports from New England to Texas are set to strike early Tuesday in the first walkout of its kind in almost half a century, freezing commercial shipping on a massive scale and disrupting the national economy weeks before the presidential election.
Beginning five weeks before the election, a strike could also inject new uncertainty into the presidential campaign. Fearful of the impacts, business groups and congressional Republicans have lined up to press the White House to invoke emergency powers and seek to block a strike, although so far President Joe Biden’s administration has not shown a willingness to intervene.