MSN reports that supply chains are set to wait as unionized dockworkers and the shipping operators at the US West Coast ports negotiate a new labor contract after the previous contract expired this past Friday.

“While there will be no contract extension, cargo will keep moving, and normal operations will continue at the ports until an agreement can be reached between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU),” the two sides said in a joint statement ahead of the 8:00 PM ET expiration of the current contract. “Both sides understand the strategic importance of the ports to the local, regional and US economies, and are mindful of the need to finalize a new coast-wide contract as soon as possible to ensure continuing confidence in the West Coast.”

Negotiations can exceed deadlines without seriously disrupting operations. The alternative would be costly: Data commissioned in 2014 by the National Association of Manufactures (NAM) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimated that port operations stopping for five days would cost the U.S. economy $1.9 billion. With the current supply chain in chaos and inflation, that sum that would certainly be higher in 2022.

The current talks, which began on May 10 in San Francisco, are unfolding at a moment when the U.S. labor movement has shown leverage amid election victories at dozens of Starbucks (SBUX) locations and “the most pro-union president leading the most pro-union administration in American history.”

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