At midnight on Tuesday, about 50,000 dockworkers unionized with the International Longshoremen’s Association officially began a country-spanning strike, walking off the job from 36 shipping ports on the East and Gulf coasts,

Some 45,000 dock workers went on strike Tuesday, idling ports from Florida to Texas, but the walkout’s impact on consumers and the larger economy hinges on how long it lasts. A port strike lasting more than a week would likely drive up the cost of fruit and vegetables at the supermarket,

Around 45,000 dockworkers went on strike Tuesday for the first time in almost 50 years, in a move that could temporarily put up to 105,000 workers out of work. Thirty-six East and Gulf Coast ports from Maine to Texas are affected after labor negotiations stalled between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA),