A short strike could have a limited economic impact given many companies have imported extra goods ahead of a possible work stoppage or shifted more shipments to West Coast ports.

Nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are on strike Tuesday against the nation’s East and Gulf Coast ports, choking off the flow of many of America’s imports and exports in what could become the country’s most disruptive work stoppage in decades.

Dockworkers at seaports on the East and Gulf Coasts went on strike Tuesday after negotiations with port employers over a new contract remained at an impasse.

Thousands of unionized dockworkers at 14 major ports stretching from Maine to Texas went on strike at midnight, after failing to come to terms on a new labor contract late Monday. Why it matters: A work stoppage that lasts more than a few days will snarl supply chains,

Union dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, putting coast-wide cargo in limbo.

ILA union longshoremen at East Coast, Gulf Coast ports walk off the job after ownership and labor failed to reach a deal in a blow to the U.S. economy.