Longshoremen at dozens of ports along the East and Gulf Coasts took to the picket lines after midnight Tuesday as they launched a massive strike that threatens to re-inflame inflation and trigger product shortages as the holiday season begins.

The work stoppage went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday after the International Longshoremen's Association, which represents 45,000 workers, and the port alliance failed to extend a collective agreement that had just expired.

For the first time since 1977, 36 ports stretching from strategic coastal locations as far north as Maine and as far south as Texas — all of which handle a combined $3 trillion in annual international trade for the country — will be idle due to a work stoppage .

The labor dispute, in which longshoremen are demanding higher wages and protection from automation of their jobs, is crippling billions of dollars' worth of daily commerce and threatening to inflict significant damage on an economy suffering from stubborn inflation.

It also comes at a critical time as authorities need supplies and goods to help parts of the Southeast recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene.

Ports across the Southeast and the Gulf lost power as congestion mounted as a result of the powerful storm.

Retailers such as Walmart, Ikea, Samsung, Bob's Discount Furniture, LG and Home Depot that rely on imported goods are among the most vulnerable to the damage that would result from an extension of the strike.

Workers began picketing the Port of Philadelphia shortly after midnight, walking in circles at a railroad crossing outside the port and chanting “No work without a fair contract.”

The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), the umbrella organization for port managers, made a last-minute attempt to avert a strike late Monday night, offering a 50% wage increase over six years.

However, according to CNBC, the ILA rejected the offer. The port owners hoped the offer would lead to renewed talks between the two sides.

The union appears to have complied with their demands. In a recent video, ILA President Harold Daggett told rank-and-file members who voted unanimously to authorize a strike: “We are going to crush them.”

Daggett was seen addressing union workers at the Maher Terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey, early Tuesday in a video posted to Instagram.

“What we are doing here will go down in history,” he told union members. “They can’t survive long.”

Before Monday, it had been weeks since the two sides sat down to talk about a new contract.

With negotiations at a standstill, the strike was expected to begin.

Several major ports, including Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Houston and Miami, began suspending operations before the work stoppage.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement shortly after midnight on Tuesday saying her state “has been working around the clock to ensure our grocery stores and medical facilities have the essential products that they need.”

Unless there is a dramatic breakthrough in negotiations, shippers will be unable to reroute their cargo to West Coast ports due to limited capacity to handle more containers.

The dockers' union, which represents workers in the West, recently signed a new labor contract and will therefore not join the strike.

However, it is unlikely that these longshoremen and their counterparts in Canada will agree to transfer East Coast goods in solidarity with striking union members.

“You can be assured that the ILA’s 85,000 members will support their sisters and brothers,” James McNamara, a spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents West Coast longshoremen, said in a statement.

Supply chain experts say consumers will not feel an immediate impact from the strike as most retailers have restocked and brought forward Christmas gift delivery.

However, if it lasts longer than a few weeks, a work stoppage would significantly disrupt the country's supply chain, potentially leading to higher prices and delays in the delivery of goods to households and businesses.

If the strike were to be prolonged, companies would be forced to pay shippers for delays, causing some goods to arrive late during the peak holiday shopping season – potentially impacting deliveries of everything from toys artificial Christmas trees to cars, coffee and fruit.

The strike is likely to have an almost immediate impact on supplies of perishable imported goods such as bananas.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, strike-affected ports handle 3.8 million tons of bananas each year, accounting for 75% of the nation's supply.

It could also hamper exports from East Coast ports and cause congestion at West Coast ports, where workers are represented by a different union.

The railroads say they can expand capacity to move more freight from the West Coast, but analysts say they can't make up for the freight moved east.

“If the strikes continue, they will cause huge delays throughout the supply chain, a domino effect that will undoubtedly extend into 2025 and cause chaos across the industry,” noted Jay Dhokia, founder of supply chain management and logistics company Pro3PL.

JP Morgan estimated that a strike that closes ports on the East and Gulf Coasts could cost the economy $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion a day, with some of that recouping over time after the resumption recovered to normal operation.

The strike comes just weeks before the presidential election and could become a factor in shortages.

Retailers, auto parts suppliers and food importers had been hoping for a deal or that President Biden would intervene and end the strike using the Taft-Hartley Act, which gives him an 80-day cooling-off period.

But during an exchange with reporters on Sunday, Biden, who has worked to win union votes for Democrats, said “no” when asked if he planned to intervene in the potential walkout.

“The U.S. government should stay out of this fight and allow union members to keep their jobs for the wages and benefits they deserve,” Teamsters President Sean O'Brien said in a statement.

With post wires