The Boston port strike would have a “moderate” impact on Massachusetts, an economist says

BOSTON — At least 25,000 longshoremen at 14 ports from Massachusetts to Texas appear to be ready for action on strike this week.

East Coast port strike

The longshoremen's union could walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday when its contract expires, which would cause significant disruption to the economy. There could be shortages of medicines, cars, food and fresh meat.

Negotiations between the union and the shipping industry have stalled since June. Longshoremen want better pay and less automation.

Boston Harbor would be closed

Conley Terminal, the main cargo port in South Boston, would be closed in the event of a strike.

There are about 160 longshoremen in Boston and a strike could affect about 12,000 jobs in the area, including truck drivers, delivery workers and tugboat drivers.

But overall, the impact in Boston and Massachusetts would be “moderate,” said economist and Boston University professor Jay Zagorsky.

Will anyone notice?

“Massachusetts is no longer one of the largest ports on the East Coast. Instead, we’re ranked 44th nationally,” he said said WBZ-TV last week. “So if the strike is relatively short, say a week or two, no one will notice. But if it drags on, say Halloween or Thanksgiving, we will actually see some empty shelves,” Zagorsky said.

“It will impact at a retail level what goes on the shelves and what people can buy and consume. And strikes in the past, that's the story, have resulted in this being incredibly disruptive to doing business in the region,” said Jim Rooney, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Should a strike occur, Massport said any import cargo still at Conley Terminal at the end of Monday will be unavailable “until the end of the lockdown.”

“Any refrigerated cargo remaining in the terminal (import and export) will not be monitored or serviced during the work stoppage,” the agency said in a statement.

There has not been a port strike on the East Coast since 1977.