Numerous ports on the United States' west coast have been effectively shut down since the evening of June 1 after the union representing the ports’ labor force, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), announced it would be “staging concerted and disruptive work actions” at several locations following the recent breakdown in contract negotiations with port management officials. The Wall Street Journal reported that labor relations deteriorated during the week of June 2 after employers and the union failed to reach an agreement over wages.

The Port of Oakland has been shut down since the evening of June 1 due to insufficient labor for terminal operations according to CNBC. Operations have also halted at the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Hueneme, the Port of Long Beach, the Port of Oakland and the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle in Washington.

“Today, the ILWU [International Longshore and Warehouse Union] is staging concerted and disruptive work actions that have effectively shut down operations at some marine terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,” the PMA said in a June 2 statement. “The Union is also staging similar work actions that have shut down or severely impacted terminal operations at the Ports of Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle and Hueneme.”

In an email obtained by CNBC, Total Terminals International, the largest operator at the Port of Long Beach, told its truckers that it would be closed during the day and night shifts June 5.

ILWU president Willie Adams refuted any reports that contract negotiations had broken down between the two sides in a June 2 social media post, stating talks are “getting there, but it’s important to understand that West Coast dockworkers kept the economy going during the pandemic and lost their lives doing so." He concluded his message by saying the unions "aren’t going to settle for an economic package that doesn’t recognize the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the ILWU workforce that lifted the shipping industry to record profits.”

From June 1 to June 4, the median number of dwell days — the time a ship spends at a port being secured, discharging freight, loading cargo and performing other activities — for Port of LA exports increased from 6.1 days to 11 days according to data from project44. During the same period, median export dwell has gone from 1.3 days to 4.8 days at the Port of Long Beach. The Port of Oakland also saw its median export dwell increase from 4.5 days on June 1 to 7.2 days on June 4.

The collective bargaining agreement being negotiated by the ILWU and PMA covers more than 22,000 longshore workers stationed at 29 ports across the west coast of the United States. The previous collective bargaining agreement between port managers and union workers expired July 1, 2022. However, talks for a new contract began May 10, 2022.