ILA union longshoremen at East Coast, Gulf Coast ports walk off the job after ownership and labor failed to reach a deal in a blow to the U.S. economy.

In a statement on Tuesday, ILA President Harold Daggett said the union is “now demanding $5 an hour increase in wages for each of the six years of a new ILA-USMX Master Contract. Plus, we want absolute airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation, and we are demanding all Container Royalty monies go to the ILA.”