Looming port strike: What to know about the potential work stoppage

foxbusiness.com:

Produce importer Peter Kopke, Sr. discusses the impact of a looming port strike on 'The Bottom Line.'

In less than a week, dockworkers at ports on the East and Gulf coasts have pledged to strike unless a new contract is reached. 

A work stoppage could severely disrupt the U.S. economy, and the dockworkers, represented by the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), and port employers, represented by the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), remain at an impasse over wages in a new contract. 

The ILA is negotiating on behalf of 45,000 dockworkers at three dozen U.S. ports from Maine to Texas that collectively handle about half of the country's seaborne imports. It warned that its members are prepared to stop working if they don't have a new contract by the Oct. 1 deadline, putting various sectors in a dire situation.  

PORT STRIKES COULD HAVE 'DEVASTATING' IMPACT TO ECONOMY, RETAIL TRADE GROUP SAYS

The USMX said in a recent statement that despite its attempts to engage with the ILA, it has been «unable to schedule a meeting to continue negotiations on a new Master Contract.» 

The group said it remains prepared to bargain at any time. However, the USMX said in the statement published earlier this week that the ILA doesn't seem interested in negotiating at this time.

The Port of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. (Photographer: Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

«USMX has received outreach from the Department of Labor, the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS), and other federal agencies and we will keep them up-to-date on the status of negotiations,» the alliance said Monday, adding that it «would be open to working with the FMCS, as we have done successfully in the past, but that is