Ports on both sides of the Delaware River support thousands of jobs and move vast amounts of cargo through the South Jersey-Philadelphia area. However, the International Longshoremen’s Association — representing about 25,000 port workers on the East and Gulf coasts —– might strike when a contract expires at midnight Monday, Sept. 30.

East and Gulf Coast dockworkers are set to go on strike at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, shutting down 36 ports from Maine to Texas that handle about one-half of US ocean imports.