NORFOLK, Va. — The Port of Virginia announced it halted cargo operations Monday afternoon after a strike appeared to be "all but certain" for 45,000 port workers up and down the East Coast.
The union representing the dockworkers says its members will walk off the job at midnight. The group blames the U.S. Maritime Alliance for allegedly blocking the path toward a contract agreement. But the alliance said the union has not been negotiating in good faith.
The strike threatens to shutter 36 ports including here in Norfolk, and could cripple the country's supply chain. Those docks handle roughly half of the goods shipped in and out of the U.S.
In an announcement on its website the Port of Virginia said cargo operations were halted at 6 p.m. Monday "ahead of the [midnight] deadline to prepare its terminals for a potential work stoppage."