Ports are at a standstill for the second day in a row -- leaving seafood products stuck on the water -- as dock workers continue to follow through on their threat to strike.

With as much as 260,000 metric tons of seafood imports worth $21.1 billion monthly on the line, the question now is: Where do negotiations stand? 

The six-year contract for the 45,000 dockworkers of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), which was last negotiated in 2018, expired at midnight on Monday (Sept. 30). While ILA, the union representing maritime workers, had entered into discussions with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) ahead of the deadline, the two parties were unable to agree to a new deal to keep ports open [...]