Dockworkers Shut Down, Slow Cargo Operations at West Coast Ports

1. Dockworkers at West Coast ports in the United States are disrupting international trade for a fourth day¹.
2. The biggest shipping gateways on the US West Coast are enduring the longest labor-related disruptions since 2015 as talks between port employers and dockworkers close in on one year without a contract².
3. The contract for 22,000 West Coast port workers expired on June 11, 2022, but the union and employers are still negotiating and have not planned any strike or lockout³.
4. A strike would disrupt the supply chain and the economy, as the ports handle nearly 40 percent of all U.S. imports³.
5. The union has a history of powerful strikes in the past, especially in 1934³.
6. Dockworkers at Los Angeles-Long Beach and other West Coast ports prepare for summer battle⁴.
7. In 1971, West Coast dock workers led the union’s longest strike in history — 134 days⁵.
8. A strike by dockworkers at the Los Angeles-Long Beach and other West Coast ports would have an instant impact on the already fragile supply chain⁴.

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