Unionized workers have begun a three-day strike at two terminals of the port of Montreal as talks over a new contract are yet to result in a labor agreement, the Canadian port's authorities said on Monday.

The work stoppage coincides with and must link up with the ongoing strike by 45,000 dockworkers along the US East Coast, which has shuttered 36 ports between Maine and Houston, Texas, including five of the continent’s 10 largest ports.

The job action Monday morning closed facilities that handle about 40% of container traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway