Vancouver British Columbia - A union representing port workers in Western Canada officially began striking, an action that could have ripple effects reaching beyond the U.S.'s northern neighbor.
 
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada's Longshore Division announced its labor strike began in a Saturday Facebook post signed by union president Rob Ashton.
 
More than 99 percent of members of the union, who support West Coast ports such as Vancouver and Prince Rupert, voted to approve the strike last month.
 
Notice of the strike came Wednesday.
 
Canadian ports handle nearly US$225 billion in cargo each year, according to estimates, with items spanning industries such as home goods, electronics, and apparel transported by rail.
 
Approximately 15 percent of consumer trade going through the Port of Vancouver is headed to, or coming from, the U.S. according to port authority data.
 
Around two-thirds of containerized import volume going to the Port of Prince Rupert are headed to the U.S., port data shows.
 
Three Class 1 railways operate at these ports, CN, CPKC, and BNSF, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
 
In an email to CNBC, BNSF said it had no comment on a strike impact.
 
CN could not be immediately reached for comment.
 
In a CPKC customer advisory issued Wednesday, the railway said, "The work stoppage related to this notice could impact port operations in British Columbia. At this time, we do not anticipate any significant service interruptions to result from this work stoppage, and as such, CPKC has not initiated embargoes related to a potential service interruption, but we are closely monitoring developments to evaluate any impact to shipments on CPKC's network. We will provide updates as necessary."
 
Alex Harring.