If the port strike occurs it will be really, really ugly for the economy
Union: East Coast Port Strike to Start Tuesday
A port strike on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico will go ahead starting on Tuesday, the International Longshoremen’s Association union said on Sunday, signaling action that could cause delays and snarl supply chains.
“United States Maritime Alliance … refuses to address a half-century of wage subjugation,” the union said in a statement. The United States Maritime Alliance, known as USMX, represents employers of the East and Gulf Coast longshore industry.
USMX did not immediately comment.
If union members walk off the job at ports stretching from Maine to Texas, it would be the first coast-wide ILA strike since 1977, affecting ports that handle about half the nation’s ocean shipping.
Think about everything that comes in to those ports and not being able to get them off the ships. Cars, food, electronics. Consider Baltimore, which is first in handling autos, light trucks, farm and construction machinery, and imported forest products, aluminum, and sugar. And then all the goods shipped out of the ports from Maine to Texas. And there were no negotiations Sunday, and none planned Monday before the midnight deadline
The White House did not immediately comment on the union’s statement. Earlier on Sunday, President Joe Biden said he did not intend to intervene to prevent a walkout if dock workers failed to secure a new contract by an Oct. 1 deadline.
“It’s collective bargaining. I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” he told reporters. Presidents can intervene in labor disputes that threaten national security or safety by imposing an 80-day cooling-off period under the federal Taft-Hartley Act. Reuters first reported on Sept. 17 that Biden did not plan to invoke the Taft-Hartley provision, citing a White House official. A strike could stop the flow of everything from food to automobiles at major ports – in a dispute that could jeopardize jobs and stoke inflation weeks ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
This strike will be bad for the economy, and the ripples will start fast. I have to wonder, is Biden refusing to get involved because of the way he was shoved out the door, and this is some quiet revenge on Harris? Because she’s still part of the Biden-Harris administration, and bad economic issues can hurt the incumbent/incumbent party.
The group warned a labor stoppage could cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars daily “hurting American businesses, workers and consumers across the country. We urge both sides to come to an agreement before Monday night’s deadline.” For months, the union has threatened to shut down the 36 ports it covers if employers like container ship operator Maersk and its APM Terminals North America do not deliver significant wage increases and stop terminal automation projects.
The more the workers demand in compensation the more automation will be implemented.
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Joey doesn’t give a shit about the American economy.
The American right is cheering for the strike as anything that hurts America today, helps Krazy Donnie tomorrow!!
Krazy Teach fantasizes that President Biden isn’t intervening (yet) because the DNC goaded him into leaving the race! Revenge!
Speaking of election shenanigans… why does Russia, the GOP and major corporate PACs give financial support to Jill Stein (Green Party)? (Hint: They want Trump to win)
The imbecile at DJThree Consulting, Rimjob, apparently doesn’t give a shit about the American economy either.
Seems all he cares about is taking cheap shots.
BTW, Trump cannot in invoke the Taft-Hartley Act but Joey sure can.
President of ILA already said if they do Taft-Hartley, it will just delay the inevitable. “They can make us come to work, but they can’t make us work”. He specifically said the union would slow roll every port transaction.
The fact is that you have two sides with mutually exclusive positions and no middle ground. If only there were a nationally respected person who was famous for making deals who could step in and help out. There will be no deal until both sides feel some pain.
The inevitable deal is the ILA will get more money for members AND the will have to accept some automation to increase port throughput… just like every modern port on the planet.
Don’t forget the “mental disabled” from Leith Honda, Raleigh NC!!
The fact is that the posts are run by a conglomeration of international shipping companies. Those companies are used to paying Singapore prices, India prices, and China prices. America is not Singapore, India or China. They are going to pay higher prices here.
Part of the problem is that the ILA has gotten so large that they can control the labor prices not just on the docks of one city, but for the entire East coast of the USA. This is a clear violation of anti-trust laws if labor were looked at as a commodity. It is a certainty that the millions of unskilled laborers that the Biden/Harris/Democrat to be named later administration imported will be willing to take those jobs at a much lower wage than the ILA is seeking. Are Democrats really “Pro-labor” when they undercut the price of labor so drastically by importing cheaper alternatives?
In the case of shipping automation, the payoff for shipping companies is vastly improved throughput, not savings on labor. The shipping companies are investing in automation in ports all over the world where labor is dirt cheap.
Another part of the solution is that loading and unloading ships is 20th century workforce and the ILA needs to “grow up”. If your job can be done by robots, you don’t deserve more money and you certainly don’t get to dictate a “no robots” policy. As the democratic party would say when it came to coal miners, “they just need to learn to code and get 21st century jobs”.
Pedo joe won’t do the taft-hartley act this close to the election because it would be a kick in the nuts to the unions, which have already lost 100’s of thousands of jobs since the pedo stole the election. Also , pedo joe don’t care about anything but himself.
Doesn’t anyone remember what a big deal it was just a few months ago when only a part of the port of Baltimore was shut down due to a bridge collapse? We were all told this would cause nation-wide supply chain disruption. Multiply that by every port on the East coast. Even if the strike only lasts a few days, it will take weeks to unravel the port delays and Billions in losses if factories have to shut down due to lack of raw materials and parts.