Dockworkers strike, shutting eastern ports

Approximately 50,000 ILA union longshoremen went on strike after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract with maritime companies

Harold Daggett, president of the International Longshoremen's Association, rallies union members as they begin strike
Harold Daggett, president of the International Longshoremen's Association, rallies union members as they begin strike
(Image credit: Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

What happened

Some 45,000 International Longshoremen's Association union members went on strike at midnight Tuesday morning, shutting down ports from Maine to Texas. The ILA's first strike since 1977 "threatens to rattle the American economy five weeks ahead of the presidential election," The Wall Street Journal said. The affected ports handle more than half of U.S. trade in cargo containers. 

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.