Workers began walking picket lines early Tuesday near ports all along the East and Gulf coasts.
A shutdown that lasts more than a few weeks has the potential to raise prices and create shortages of goods throughout the country as the holiday shopping season.
It could also have political ramifications.
President Biden is refusing to order the strikers back to work.
And Vice President Harris has given the dockworkers her full backing. She said in a statement that “foreign-owned shipping companies have made record profits” and the union workers “deserve a fair share” of that money.
The union went on strike after rejecting a 50-percent wage increase over six years. The dockworkers are also demanding the industry reject any automation of their jobs.
There have been some signs of movement in the talks, with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, saying that both sides have moved from their initial wage offers. But on Wednesday, the Alliance called on the International Longshoremen’s Union to come to the bargaining table.
“We cannot agree to preconditions to return to bargaining, but we remain committed to bargaining in good faith,” the group said in a statement.
