Unionized dockworkers halted operations at the 36 East Coast and Gulf Coast ports and took to the picket lines early Tuesday morning as a result of failed negotiations between the International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance.

Port workers told Fox Business they are prepared to continue the work stoppage until their union is able to negotiate a more favorable contract. The six-year agreement between the two parties expired Monday evening.

The walkout is the first launched by the ILA, which represents 85,000 longshoremen, since 1977.

The ILA is demanding wage increases for its members and job security by banning the automation of cranes, gates, and container-moving trucks used to load and unload freight.

The USMX claimed it made an offer to the ILA on Monday that would have raised wages by nearly 50% over the duration of the contract. The offer also reportedly would have tripled employer retirement plan contributions, provided better health care plans, and retained existing language about automation.

In a Monday statement, the USMX said, "In the last 24 hours, the USMX and ILA have traded counter offers related to wages. The USMX increased our offer and has also requested an extension of the current Master Contract, now that both sides have moved off their previous positions. We are hopeful that this could allow us to fully resume collective bargaining around the other outstanding issues – in an effort to reach an agreement."

Fox Business reported that the ILA rejected the offer and announced it would be moving forward with its plan to strike.

Last week, the USMX reportedly filed an unfair labor complaint against the ILA, claiming that the union was breaking labor laws by refusing to participate in negotiations. The ILA called the move a "publicity stunt."

In a Monday statement, the ILA accused the USMX of "block[ing] the path toward a settlement on a new Master Contract by refusing ILA's demands for a fair and decent contract" and said it "seems intent on causing a strike at all ports from Maine to Texas beginning in almost 12 hours."

ILA President Harold Daggett told Fox Business that the parties' initial negotiations "didn't work out" but that the union is "always willing to sit down when the right number is hit."

"Right now, everything is off the table," he told the news outlet. "Nobody's talking right now. We got Congress trying to bring them to the table. And that's where we are right now."

The union's decision to push forward with the strike has raised concerns about the potential economic impact. The 45,000 dockworkers participating in the walkout manage approximately half of all goods shipped in and out of the country. Jason Fisk, CEO of Los Angeles-based SalSon Logistics, estimated that the work stoppage could cost $3.7 billion per day.

Joe Mosquera, a dockworker in New Jersey, told Fox Business from the picket line on Tuesday, "I started 27 years ago and my wages increased only $25 over the 27 years."

"So to me, I believe that we've taken less than we've deserved in the past. So now it's time," Mosquera stated. "We are just looking to be paid fairly and for the goods we take care of every day. And we did not stop during COVID, and we don't want to stop right now."

"We are willing to go back as soon as they decide that they'll give us a fair contract," he continued. "What's fair is whatever my union president is willing to negotiate to. But to be lowballed, he's not going to agree to that."

From the picket line in New Orleans, the ILA's local chapter told WVUE-DT, "Due to corporate greed, employers refused to compensate the ILA's members fairly."

"The ILA is fighting for respect, appreciation, and fairness in a world in which corporations are dead set on replacing hardworking people with automation. Employers push automation under the guise of safety, but it is really about cutting labor costs to increase their already exceptionally high profits," the chapter said.

Boise Butler, president of ILA Local 1291 in Philadelphia, made similar remarks to KYW-TV, stating, "Automation puts us all out of work."

"This industry controls so much of the economy. It's unbelievable. We may be small in stature ... but what we control as far as the economy is concerned, it's untouchable," Butler continued. "We're not going anywhere until we get what we deserve."

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