New York is preparing for any impacts a possible strike at ports along the East Coast might have on the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday.

At issue is a contract dispute between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) with the current contract expiring Tuesday. The ILA is demanding significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight at 36 U.S. ports.

Ports that could be affected stretch from Texas to Maine.

“As conversations between the ILA and USMX continue with a deadline of October 1, New York is prepared to support working families if a strike occurs,” Hochul said in a statement. “As the deadline looms, I urge the USMX and the ILA to come to an agreement that respects workers and ensures commerce can continue through our nation’s busiest ports here in New York.”

The governor said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the largest on the eastern seaboard, is working closely with the commercial trucking industry to ensure cargo containing essential goods, medical supplies and food products that have already been offloaded are moved out of port facilities and to their final destinations.

In the event a strike could disrupt shipment of medical supplies, the state Department of Health said it has reminded hospitals nad nursing homes of the requirement to maintain a 60-day stockpile of personal protective equipment and other goods.

The state does not anticipate upstate ports, including Albany, Coeymans, Oswego and Buffalo, will be impacted by a strike.

A strike by the ILA workers would be its first since 1977.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.