Port strike continues, SC economist breaks down potential consumer impact [Video]

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The dockworker strike is on its second day and causing growing fear about the impact it could have on prices of every day goods.

Thousands of union workers along the East and Gulf coasts, including in Charleston, walked off the job Tuesday. It’s all over a contract dispute between the International Longshoreman’s Association and the U-S Maritime Alliance. The Longshoreman are demanding a 77% increase in their pay over the next six years and protection from automation.

Economic experts say we have to look at the strike from a short-run and long-run perspective when it comes to consumer impact.

Joey Von Nessen, a research economist at the University of South Carolina, says many retailers have anticipated a strike since June and have stocked up on inventory.

If the strike is ongoing after two to three weeks, Nessen says that’s when consumers can expect to see an uptick in prices and …