Time running out to avoid crippling US port strike | Money [Video]

New York (CNN) — Time is running out to avoid a work stoppage at ports along the entire East and Gulf Coasts in what could become the most disruptive strike to the US economy in decades.

Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association are set to go on strike at 12:01 a.m. ET Tuesday at three dozen facilities spread across 14 port authorities. There are few signs that a deal could be reached by the deadline set by the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, which uses the acronym USMX. The maritime alliance represents the major shipping lines, all of which are foreign owned, as well as terminal operators and port authorities.

The strike, which would be the first at these ports since 1977, could stop the flow of a wide variety of goods over the docks of almost all the cargo ports from Maine to Texas. This includes everything from bananas to European …