North Carolina port workers strike for higher wages, limited automation [Video]

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — From North Carolina to Texas and Maine, tens of thousands of U.S. dockworkers walked off the job early Tuesday morning, clogging dozens of ports along the East and Gulf coasts and potentially raising consumer prices ahead of the holiday season.

The International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) are at an impasse. Their current six-year contract expired at midnight Tuesday. The ILA is asking for a 77% wage increase over the next six years and limits on automation, while the USMX was offering a 40% increase. That offer was increased to 50% Monday evening but no deal was struck by the deadline.

Dockworkers at ports from Maine to North Carolina to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday in the strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks.

The strike affecting 36 ports is the first by …