A strike hobbling the nation’s largest port complex, affecting an estimated $1 billion of cargo a day, is crimping paychecks for thousands of Southern California logistics workers before the holidays.

The walkout by clerical employees at the ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach has idled thousands of workers without pay, including almost 8,000 truckers, according to Robert Curry, president of California Cartage Co., one the largest freight handlers there.

“They’re dying,” Curry said.

About 800 office employees represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union went on strike in a contract dispute Nov. 27. Other workers refused to cross picket lines. Seven of eight Los Angeles shipping terminals are shut down, according to Phillip Sanfield, a spokesman for the city-owned facility. At the adjacent Port of Long Beach, three of six are closed.

About 316,000 jobs in the region, or about 1 in 20, are tied to the harbor, according to the Port of Long Beach. Unlike striking workers who can count on union funds for aid, many others such as truck drivers are independent contractors who are paid per haul, according to Jock O’Connell, an international trade adviser with Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics.

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