Thousands of dockworkers at more than a dozen ports along the East Coast and Gulf Coasts are poised to walk off the job on Tuesday.

A strike could stop the flow of everything from food to automobiles at major ports, potentially jeopardizing jobs and stoking inflation weeks ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

With the first strike by the ILA at East and Gulf Coast cargo terminals since 1977 seemingly imminent, officials in New York and New Jersey have been working to minimize any potential supply-chain disruptions, setting up trucks to transport food and medical supplies.