Tens of thousands of longshoremen have gone on strike along the US East Coast, shutting down key shipping routes ahead of November’s presidential election – and raising concerns about shortages and inflation.

The closure by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) halted traffic at 36 ports from Maine to Texas as of midnight Tuesday.

It is the first port strike of this magnitude in five decades and could inflict billions of dollars in losses on the U.S. economy and hamper the flow of goods such as food and clothing.

The US longshoremen went on strike following a labor dispute with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) after their six-year contract expired.

For its new contract, the ILA requires USMX to increase wages by 77 percent over six years and ban any automation that it says endangers workers’ jobs.

While USMX offered to increase wages by 50 percent and maintain current automation controls, ILA said that would not be enough, especially given the industry’s huge profits during the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation rising to their level previous paychecks.

“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to endure the strike for as long as possible, to preserve the wages and anti-automation protections that our ILA members deserve,” ILA chief Harold Daggett said in a statement on Tuesday.

After shipping companies collected billions during the pandemic, “we want them to pay it back,” said Boise Butler, the local ILA president in Philadelphia. “They will pay you back.”

“Fear that things will get ugly”

While analysts say U.S. consumers are unlikely to feel the impact of the strike immediately, their wallets could take a hit if the strike lasts too long.

“The concern is that the longer this goes on, the more retail shortages there will be and Americans will see more price increases,” said Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey from New Jersey, where some 100,000 unloaded shipping containers are piled up next to New York Ports.

“These are containers that would carry goods that Americans need,” Saloomey said

Fearing greater losses, companies that send or receive goods by sea are exploring other shipping options, such as using the West Coast of the United States for their shipments. But “there is no easy Plan B,” Erin McLaughlin, senior economist at the Conference Board of the non-profit organization Business Research, told AFP.

“While shippers have already begun redirecting some of their freight to the West Coast, capacity for such alternative options is limited,” McLaughlin said.

West Coast longshoremen are not striking because they are part of a separate union and have their own contract, which they agreed to last year and which gives them a significant wage increase.

Steve Hughes, CEO of HCS International, which focuses on automotive shipping, told Reuters that the union’s strike “has the whole country on tenterhooks… I’m really worried it’s going to get ugly.”

Forecaster Oxford Economics predicts the standoff could drain $4.5 billion to $7.5 billion each week from the U.S. economy.

Will the White House intervene?

The shutdown has put US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in a difficult position. None of them want to anger a powerful union or appear anti-worker to their progressive base. But they also fear possible damage to the economy, which voters have identified as their top priority in the run-up to the election.

So far, the White House has indicated that it will not step in and intervene directly in the walkouts, despite calls from some retailers. On Tuesday, Biden said that “collective bargaining” is the best way for workers to get the pay and benefits “they deserve.” He added that it was time for USMX to negotiate a “fair contract” with the longshoremen.

The U.S. government’s Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force will also hold daily meetings to address potential supply chain challenges.