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New Yorkers could face shortages and higher retail prices as they begin their holiday shopping as the first large-scale service disruption in nearly 50 years began impacting ports from Maine to Texas on Tuesday.

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) membership strike, which includes tens of thousands of longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, began at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, October 1, when the union rejected the proposal of the employers' group United States Maritime Alliance (USMX ) final proposal presented on Monday fell short of the wages and anti-automation protections that ILA members are seeking.

“USMX launched this strike when it chose to hold on to foreign ocean carriers that generate billions of dollars in profits at United States ports, but not to compensate the American ILA longshoremen who do the work that is theirs Brings wealth,” ILA President Harold Daggett said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay away from the strike for as long as necessary, to preserve the wages and anti-automation protections our ILA members deserve.”

Here's how the strike will impact consumers in New York.

Which items are affected by the port strike?

Each day of the strike could cost the economy up to $5 billion a day as imports and exports are blocked, USA TODAY and Reuters reported.

According to Reuters, big-name retailers such as Walmart and Costco have implemented backup plans for the holiday selling season, introducing Halloween and Christmas merchandise early to avoid strike-related disruptions. However, companies incur additional costs for shipping and storing the products.

According to USA TODAY, imports, exports and jobs could be affected by the strike:

  • Imports: With about half of U.S. maritime imports passing through East and Gulf Coast ports, a wide range of products are affected, including fruits and vegetables, automobiles, auto and machinery parts, clothing, pharmaceuticals, wine and spirits, and holiday items Toys and seafood. said experts.

  • Exports: Companies that sell products in international markets would suffer, experts said. For example, agricultural exporters of soybeans and poultry cannot ship their goods abroad and could end up losing market share or, worse, money because their goods are perishable, they said.

How port strikes could affect jobs

Companies that keep low inventories to keep costs down may have to close their assembly lines during a prolonged strike, for example, Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the Nation Retail Federation, told USA TODAY. This would come at a time when the job market is already cooling.

How a port strike could affect New Yorkers

Specifically, the strike in New York is not expected to impact petrochemical goods such as heating oil, gasoline and diesel, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday, in addition to municipal solid waste in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Cruise ships also remain unaffected.

“In preparation for this moment, New York has been working around the clock to ensure our grocery stores and medical facilities have the essential products they need,” Hochul said Tuesday. “It is critical for USMX and the ILA to reach a fair agreement soon that respects workers and ensures trade flows through our ports. In the meantime, we will continue our efforts to minimize disruption to New Yorkers.”

Nearly 100,000 containers are waiting to be unloaded at New York metropolitan ports alone, now frozen by the strike, and 35 container ships are on their way to New York next week, said Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York New Jersey, Reuters said on Tuesday.

However, upstate ports such as Albany, Coeymans, Oswego and Buffalo are unlikely to be affected, Hochul says.

Contribution: Reuters

Emily Barnes covers consumer-related topics for the USA TODAY Network's NY Connect team, focusing on fraud and recall issues. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Contact us at [email protected].

On By John Fenwick

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