How will port strike affect Florida cargo operations, Disney, Royal Caribbean cruises?

Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas are officially on strike.

Thirty-six East Coast and Gulf Coast ports shut down as 45,000 union workers walked off the job after labor negotiations stalled between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), USA TODAY reported. The strike only exacerbates some temporary port closures in places like Florida, the Carolinas and Georgia in the wake of Hurricane Helene .

The ILA strike is the first at these ports since 1977 and has the potential to cost the economy up to $5 billion a day , upend holiday shopping for millions of Americans and dictate whether many small- and medium-sized businesses and farmers turn a profit or lose money this year, experts said.

“Every idle day that a ship does not get into the port costs money and sometimes a lot of money … that ultimately gets passed onto consumers,” Stamatis Tsantanis, chairman and chief executive of shipper Seanergy Maritime and United Maritime, said in a statement.

Here's what we know about the ports in Florida .

Will port strike affect PortMiami in Florida?

At PortMiami, the biggest commodities going in and out of the port are fruits and vegetables, apparel and machinery.

Will port strike affect Port Everglades in Florida?

According to a CBS News story filed Tuesday, Oct. 1, Port Everglades said a strike would impact 41% of containerized cargo. Gasoline shipments at Port Everglades, and South Florida's huge cruise industry, will not be affected, the story states.

Will port strike affect Port Canaveral , Florida?

The strike by longshore workers is expected to affect cargo operations across the eastern U.S., with the potential to negatively impact the supply of a wide range of goods at grocery stores and other retailers.

But Port Canaveral will not be directly affected, because the port's cargo operators use nonunion labor to load and unload cargo vessels docked there ― and not members of the striking International Longshoremen's Association .

Port Canaveral, one of the busiest ports in the world, is home to Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and others.

Port Canaveral also is home to SpaceX drone ships such as Just Read the Instructions and A Shortfall of Gravitas that retrieve the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket stages in the Atlantic.

Will port strike affect Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney cruises from Florida?

Officials from Port Canaveral and the ILA union say Port Canaveral will not be affected .

Paul Kellem, a union representative for International Longshoremen's Association Locals 1359/1860 at Port Canaveral, said the cargo operators there currently use nonunion labor for the ship operations.

Kellem said his union local — which has about 375 members — loads and unloads passenger luggage and ship supplies from cruise ships at Port Canaveral. He said those operations will not be impacted because the ILA is not striking against cruise lines or military operations.

ILA President Harold Daggett said ILA longshore workers will continue to work passenger cruise vessels at all ILA ports, "to not inconvenience the tens of thousands of Americans who have booked trips in advance."

“We understand that many families plan and pay for cruise vacations on passenger ships more than a year out, and we don’t want them to be disappointed or inconvenienced in any way,” Daggett said in a statement.

The ILA has no plans for picketing at Port Canaveral, although Kellem said his local's members plan to picket on their days off at Florida ports that are affected by the strike, including ones in Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Tampa.

Eight cargo vessels are scheduled to dock at Port Canaveral through Oct. 6, carrying a wide range of commodities, including juice concentrate, aggregate, gasoline, lumber, slag and granite.

Port strike: Will it affect port in Jacksonville, Florida?

According to the Florida Times-Union, JaxPort said in a news release it “is closely monitoring the situation regarding the International Longshoreman Association agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance and we remain in close contact with the terminal operators who use ILA labor. We expect the strike to impact about one-third of JaxPort’s business, particularly international container volumes operated by SSA Jacksonville, as well as international vehicle volumes.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: How will port strike affect Florida cargo operations, Disney, Royal Caribbean cruises?