For the first time since 1977, East Coast port workers are on the verge of a strike. Here's what's at stake, for both workers and consumers.

The ports that would be affected by a potential strike bring over half of the nation's knitted and non-knitted apparel, valued at $32.8 billion combined, as well furniture valued at $23.4 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The International Longshoremen’s Association’s contract expires Sept. 30, and Eastern and Gulf Coast ports are bracing for a strike starting the next day.

As a strike looms, port operators said labor leaders were refusing to bargain, as big retailers brace for supply chain hiccups.

The union, which represents dockworkers across 36 ports on the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, threatens to strike on Oct. 1. If its members walk off the job at ports stretching from Maine to Texas,

By Lisa Baertlein, David Shepardson and Daniel Wiessner LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Employers negotiating a labor contract at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports on Thursday filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the union,

For the first time in decades, the largest union of maritime workers in North America is planning to go on strike, potentially disrupting supply chains and pushing the container trade into “chaos,” according to the CEO of Container xChange.