SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A series of fast-spreading port strikes in Chile are blocking exports of copper, fruit and wood pulp and keeping thousands of workers idle.

The stoppage in the world’s top copper producing nation began in the northern port of Angamos more than two weeks ago, when workers began demanding a 30-minute lunch break and a place to set up a cafeteria. Dock workers in other northern ports have joined in solidarity, causing huge losses for the mining, timber and fruit industries in export-dependent Chile.