Houston-area longshoremen along with thousands of other workers announced an end to their strike Thursday while they broker a new contract with port operators and distributors, ending a three-day work stoppage that threatened to send shock waves through the economy.

Port of Houston dockworkers are on strike, joining thousands of unionized longshoremen along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts after the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) failed to reach a new labor contract agreement with the union.

Port of Houston dockworkers have joined the nearly 50,000 striking from Texas to Maine. ILA union demands fair wages, automation ban in new contract.

The affected ports handle roughly 43 percent of U.S. imports according to ITS Logistics, a supply chain and logistics company. In Houston, a prolonged strike could mean that the Bayport and Barbours Cut Gate container terminals would be closed indefinitely, freezing trade until the ILA and USMX come to an agreement.

A strike by the ILA workers would be the first by the union since 1977 and could have major impacts on the U.S. economy

The strike involves dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas, including the Ports of Houston, Galveston and Corpus Christi.

Thousands of unionized dockworkers on the East and Gulf Coasts went on strike Tuesday morning, stranding cargo and sending ripples through supply chains for consumer goods and manufacturing parts. A contract between the operators of port terminals and the International Longshoremen’s Association,

Houston trucking companies said they're already feeling the impact of the workers' strike because they can't move anything.

The Port of Houston has joined a nationwide strike which stems from a deadlock that has been happening for months about contract negotiations. The International Longshoremen’s Association, which is the largest union for dock workers,