The last ILA strike on the East Coast, in 1977, ended after 44 days. In 2002, President George W. Bush invoked the Taft-Hartley Act to halt a management lockout of West Coast port workers. Port operator Enstructure wrote last week they'd "continue to provide support services for our customers until regular operations resume."

Dockworkers began picketing at the Port of Philadelphia early Tuesday after the International Longshoremen's Association announced the union would go on strike​.

Dockworkers along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast began a strike on Tuesday, halting the flow of about half the nation's ocean shipping after negotiations for a new labor contract broke down over wages.