US US port strike by 45,000 dockworkers is all but certain to begin at midnight - A Rather Unique October Surprise

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FILE - Shipping containers are stacked in the Port of New York and New Jersey in Elizabeth, N.J., May 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

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FILE - In this photo provided by the Georgia Ports Authority, Griff Lynch, President and CEO of the Georgia Ports Authority, provides an update on the Port of Savannah’s progress and future trajectory to 1,200 leaders from the maritime, supply chain, business and political sectors Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, during the annual State of the Port event in Savannah, Ga. (Stephen B. Morton/Georgia Ports Authority via AP, File)

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FILE - Containers are moved at the Port of New York and New Jersey in Elizabeth, N.J., on June 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Updated 12:13 PM GMT-5, September 30, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — The union representing U.S. dockworkers signaled that 45,000 members will walk off the job at midnight, kicking off a massive strike likely to shut down ports across the East and Gulf coasts.
The coming work stoppage threatens to significantly snarl the nation’s supply chain, potentially leading to higher prices and delays for households and businesses if it drags on for weeks. That’s because the strike by members of the International Longshoremen’s Association could cause 36 ports — which handle roughly half of the goods shipped into and out of the U.S. — to shutter operations.
ILA confirmed over the weekend that its members would hit the picket lines at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. In a Monday update, the union continued to blame the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, for continuing to “to block the path” towards an agreement before the contract deadline.

“The Ocean Carriers represented by USMX want to enjoy rich billion-dollar profits that they are making in 2024, while they offer ILA Longshore Workers an unacceptable wage package that we reject,” ILA said in a prepared statement. “ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing.”

ILA also accused the shippers of “killing their customers” with sizeable price increases for full containers over recent weeks. The union said that this will result increased costs for American consumers.

The Associated Press reached out to a USMX spokesperson for comment.
If drawn out, the strike would led would force businesses to pay shippers for delays and cause some goods to arrive late for peak holiday shopping season — potentially impacting delivery of anything from toys or artificial Christmas trees, to cars, coffee and vegetables. Americans could also face higher prices as retailers feel the supply squeeze.

ILA members are demanding higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks used in the loading or unloading of freight.
The coming strike by the ILA workers will be the first by the union since 1977.
If a strike were deemed a danger to U.S. economic health, President Joe Biden could, under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. This would suspend the strike.
All eyes are on what, if any, action the adminstration might take — particularly just weeks ahead of a tight presidential election. But Biden has signaled that he will not exercise this power.
During an exchange with reporters on Sunday, Biden said “no” when asked if he planned to intervene in the potential work stoppage.

“Because it’s collective bargaining, I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” Biden said referring to a 1947 law that allows the president to intervene in labor disputes that threaten the nation’s health or safety.

 

[WelperHelper99]

I want the end of the Global Empire so that our Nation can be reborn free of any entanglements. It's on you if you identify America with the Empire that was constructed utilizing its people and its industries and then cast aside when it was no longer necessary. This country, America, is not the Empire. It never was, and never will be.

America is the greatest power on the globe. We hold the keys to doomsday at our fingertips and choose not to use them. I embrace the empire.

Weird faggot fantasies aside, I did my service as per the contract stipulated when I signed.

And you dropped out like a bitch ASAP just quick enough to claim vet benifits. I know how this works, half my family is military faggot. You are a pussy and a coward that got his ass beat daily by the rest of the guys and only stuck in for the benifits. Fuck you you leech. You didn't serve your thirty like a fucking man!

What would be the point of joining a union then?
View attachment 6473987
Writers guild on strike for 148 days.

The whole point of joining a union or unionizing a workplace is if you have skills that society needs. If your job is easily replaceable or not valued by society then there is no point of joining as your strike will ignored and your job replaced as you have very little leverage.

We saw this with the writers guild strike that went on for 148 days. They had no leverage as such their union was fairly powerless.

The whole point of this is leverage.

Unions are for entitled commie brats that should suck start a 12 gauge.

Except it's not a "can I live on this" question, it's a "what is my work worth" question. People have a right to choose where they work, so they can negotiate wages if they have the position. This is the extreme end of negotiation.

How much do you make? Is it more than the 47k I lived on last year? Should I be able to demand you drop down to my income because all you need to survive is 47k/year?

Would you work for someone you thought was underpaying you?

If im making over 80k im fucking happy. The rest is greed. You are shutting down the country for dollar bills that only benefit YOU. Fuck that shit nigga.

 

[Dagobert]

If im making over 80k im fucking happy. The rest is greed. You are shutting down the country for dollar bills that only benefit YOU. Fuck that shit nigga.

OK, but what if they didn't strike. What if they just quit their jobs? Would you demand they go back to work the next day because that too is "shutting down the country?" Or what if they were making only 47k like me? Would it be OK then to "shut down the country" in a strike for 80k?

You never answer this, and it's obvious why, but I'll ask again. Why do the port owners not get such ire? And would you work for someone you felt was underpaying you?

 

[anti SJW]

Perfect timing. I got two Kickstarter board games that are on the boats heading over as I post this.

 

[A Real Munson]

Truck drivers and everyone else make far less.

Truck drivers with 6+ years seniority are not making far less than $80k/year. If you're not constantly getting shit-canned, and depending on picking up extra routes, driving OTR, doing live unloads, specializations / certs / endoresments, truck drivers can make a very healthy living.

Longshoremen do seem well compensated for non-trade blue collar work. As has been pointed out elsewhere ITT, a lot of that work is going to be in areas with a substantially higher cost of living. Making $160k/year in NYC at a union job where you have 10 years seniority isn't exactly highway robbery. That $160k probably doesn't go very much further than a truck driver's $88k in Wisconsin.

Maybe it does though. Either way, if the National Guard "caves in their skulls," things are going to be a lot fucking worse.

Just curious, where did you stand on the Canadian trucker protests and the government crackdowns against them?

Dad served his full thirty.

Do you ever tell people you "almost enlisted?" Let me guess, you would have fucked up a drill instructor as soon as he got in your face.

By the way, my dad's a lawyer. So if you fuck with me I'll sue.

Fuck you you leech. You didn't serve your thirty like a fucking man!

You are a national treasure.

 

[Mepsi Pax]

Yeah it does, you should be renlisted and courtmarshled for such talk

FOUR. What a fucking PUSSY! Oh i guess logistics or base guard duty was so fucking hard, boo hoo! Pathetic. You aren't even a veteran. Dad served his full thirty. You did four. Bet you got beat by the boys on the daily!

If you cant live on over 80k, that's a you problem, not shut down all the ports and cripple the country problem.

I always wondered what it would be like to be a scab. Scab mindset. Funnier because you say you're in the trades, as a welder (although you're also still a little babby, come back after you grind for a decade or two). Scabby shit welder mad that he's not making good money, but why? My buddy is making ridiculous numbers welding on gov'mt contracts, we're talking about hourly pay in excess of $70-80 AND fat per diem. His little babby friend, probably greener than you, just signed up to make around 95k/year starting, and that's with a lousy 1.5 years experience, dude still wears a diaper ffs.

The pay for dickworkers is, apparently, pretty good. Maybe a big powerful union could help other tradesmen get better pay? I'm sure a lot of techs would like to make 50+ per hour, esepcially the ones on fucking commission, but good luck fighting the corpos by yourself.

Though they are well paid, 100k doesn't go far even in the smaller ports like CHS and Savannah. The COL, budgetwise, in these areas is approaching 80k gross (that is, you need to take home about 1k per week to live decently and make ANY kind of real savings). At 100k you can just about maybe buy a house at the low end of the market (one that's not 1+ hour commute away) in these places, and it's not getting better. Sure, if your wife makes good money too then the numbers get easier... IF, in the land of aging singles. I'd say 120k yearly would be getting closer to comfortable, 150 is still pretty good and you could probably get good-ish real estate with that, so these guys make those numbers but with overtime. Overtime is failure. Overtime is balls and it's terrible. Would I work a few hours overtime at $100/hr? Sure. Would I work 70 hours every week to make those paychecks? Fuck no. Good luck with all that. If you really think it's some kind of win to make 150k by working 60+ hours weekly in a trade, you are retarded (also there are multiple trades where you can do so anyway if you're good).

Anyways welders have one of THE highest clock hour rates of all the trades, so if you're not making it then it's basically by choice (or you suck that bad, it's actually a very challenging job at the highest levels and not just because it takes a lot of physical labor). Dunno why u so mad. I support labor in their struggles with faggot billionaire corpos unless the laborer(s) are really really fucked up and worthless.

 

[Kheapathic]

wait for the increase of chinese/korean owned factories. then the unions will be useful again. Obama's factory documentary is pretty good. showcased how lazy unions are and how cutthroat the chinese are. the chinese will run you ragged and the modern american worker needs to be coddled every second

I disagree, we don't need more middle management and bureaucracy in the way, we just need a competent working class. One of the most memorable union moments I had, was my job was contracting for government shit through Northrop Grumman; we were allocated a couple of fork lifts and HMMVs to perform our jobs. Another part of the union and contract was the vehicle maintenance side, who were damn near fucking useless and quite literally always fucking late and gay. It got so bad, one of our manager and a number of us who knew how to PMCS shit from being in the military told our manager to just buy some oil and parts and we can do the simple shit ourselves. Now there we were, three months past a scheduled PMCS, and the maintenance guys actually come to us and say "Hey, we need to take these vehicles." Told them to pound sand, we already did it. They were late and gay with every aspect of work, but the moment we said go away, they worked fast to get HR and union reps and anyone else down there to have a fucking coombaiyah circle about how it's against union rules to take a job away from another. Nevermind they were always months late with doing their fucking job, and not because they were backed up, they just didn't want to do shit; they don't want to hear it, union says we can't fucking take jobs from others.

The unions are a fucking useless middle manager who fucks up everything they interface with, get paid to do so, and demand to be recognized as a good. The fuck are they gonna do to China? "Hey Mr. Han, this steel isn't properly rated, you lied and sold me bad goods." The fuck is the union gonna do, besides lodge a complaint and get bribed by the politicians.

 

[WelperHelper99]

Truck drivers with 6+ years seniority are not making far less than $80k/year. If you're not constantly getting shit-canned, and depending on picking up extra routes, driving OTR, doing live unloads, specializations / certs / endoresments, truck drivers can make a very healthy living.

Longshoremen do seem well compensated for non-trade blue collar work. As has been pointed out elsewhere ITT, a lot of that work is going to be in areas with a substantially higher cost of living. Making $160k/year in NYC at a union job where you have 10 years seniority isn't exactly highway robbery. That $160k probably doesn't go very much further than a truck driver's $88k in Wisconsin.

Maybe it does though. Either way, if the National Guard "caves in their skulls," things are going to be a lot fucking worse.

Just curious, where did you stand on the Canadian trucker protests and the government crackdowns against them?

Truckers don't make enough, the dockyard workers are way over compensated. 160k is insane. As for canada. That was over covid. This is over a few extra bucks. Completely different. Again, they are being greedy.

OK, but what if they didn't strike. What if they just quit their jobs? Would you demand they go back to work the next day because that too is "shutting down the country?" Or what if they were making only 47k like me? Would it be OK then to "shut down the country" in a strike for 80k?

You never answer this, and it's obvious why, but I'll ask again. Why do the port owners not get such ire? And would you work for someone you felt was underpaying you?

They wouldn't quit because they know they have a good ass deal. They are greedy and want MOAR. This is the union thinking they can scrape a little extra off the top. Just for them though. No one else.

I always wondered what it would be like to be a scab. Scab mindset. Funnier because you say you're in the trades, as a welder (although you're also still a little babby, come back after you grind for a decade or two). Scabby shit welder mad that he's not making good money, but why? My buddy is making ridiculous numbers welding on gov'mt contracts, we're talking about hourly pay in excess of $70-80 AND fat per diem. His little babby friend, probably greener than you, just signed up to make around 95k/year starting, and that's with a lousy 1.5 years experience, dude still wears a diaper ffs.

The pay for dickworkers is, apparently, pretty good. Maybe a big powerful union could help other tradesmen get better pay? I'm sure a lot of techs would like to make 50+ per hour, esepcially the ones on fucking commission, but good luck fighting the corpos by yourself.

Though they are well paid, 100k doesn't go far even in the smaller ports like CHS and Savannah. The COL, budgetwise, in these areas is approaching 80k gross (that is, you need to take home about 1k per week to live decently and make ANY kind of real savings). At 100k you can just about maybe buy a house at the low end of the market (one that's not 1+ hour commute away) in these places, and it's not getting better. Sure, if your wife makes good money too then the numbers get easier... IF, in the land of aging singles. I'd say 120k yearly would be getting closer to comfortable, 150 is still pretty good and you could probably get good-ish real estate with that, so these guys make those numbers but with overtime. Overtime is failure. Overtime is balls and it's terrible. Would I work a few hours overtime at $100/hr? Sure. Would I work 70 hours every week to make those paychecks? Fuck no. Good luck with all that. If you really think it's some kind of win to make 150k by working 60+ hours weekly in a trade, you are retarded (also there are multiple trades where you can do so anyway if you're good).

Anyways welders have one of THE highest clock hour rates of all the trades, so if you're not making it then it's basically by choice (or you suck that bad, it's actually a very challenging job at the highest levels and not just because it takes a lot of physical labor). Dunno why u so mad. I support labor in their struggles with faggot billionaire corpos unless the laborer(s) are really really fucked up and worthless.

Its because i weld i have this mindset. Work hard play hard. The unions want more for less. Fuck them nigga. Bust your ass or get curb stomped.

 

[Jump]

Well over 80k.

If you live where these ports are. NYC, NJ, Boston. And are only making 80k then your poor. Its not greed to want to be able to afford a home. People need to live.

People can rant about "bug hives" and getting what they voted for but this is the reality these guys have to live in. These ports are where they are. Its costs ALOT to live in commuting distance to them.

Again if you think 80K/yr is a lot of money in 2024 then your a mexican or stuck in 2014.

Money printer goes BRRRRR!

 

[Dagobert]

They wouldn't quit because they know they have a good ass deal. They are greedy and want MOAR. This is the union thinking they can scrape a little extra off the top. Just for them though. No one else.

Do you not understand hypotheticals? Is that the problem here? How would you feel if you didn't eat breakfast this morning?

And would you work for someone you thought was underpaying you?

Its because i weld i have this mindset. Work hard play hard. The unions want more for less. Fuck them nigga. Bust your ass or get curb stomped.

Apparently it's not going well if you're really a welder coping and seething about people making 80k per year.

 

[Meat Target]

Nevermind they were always months late with doing their fucking job, and not because they were backed up, they just didn't want to do shit; they don't want to hear it, union says we can't fucking take jobs from others.

I had to babysit Teamsters at UPS once upon a time. If a part-time supervisor so much as touched a package, it was considered "stealing their work", and they'd bitch at you or file a grievance against you.

Sorry I tried to help you, asswipes. I have to keep shit moving. I have the full-time sups breathing down my neck, and clearly yelling at you isn't making your boomer ass move any faster. I'm here solely to get punished for your fuckups.

(To use a military analogy: at UPS, Teamsters are like the Enlisted, Part-time sups are like NCOs, and full-timers are like the officer corps.)

Some of them were cool. Others wouldn't give me the time of day, even when I'd say "good morning (name)!" to them with a smile.

I get why unions are necessary, but fuck me, are they a pain the ass.

 

[WelperHelper99]

If you live where these ports are. NYC, NJ, Boston. And are only making 80k then your poor. Its not greed to want to be able to afford a home. People need to live.
View attachment 6474071View attachment 6474073View attachment 6474074
People can rant about "bug hives" and getting what they voted for but this is the reality these guys have to live in. These ports are where they are. Its costs ALOT to live in commuting distance to them.

Again if you think 80K/yr is a lot of money in 2024 then your a mexican or stuck in 2014.
View attachment 6474093
Money printer goes BRRRRR!

At least you've actually made a real point instead of "I WANT MORE MONEY FOR REASONS" like the rest of these retards. That's only in NY though. This affects most of the east coast. Most of the east coast is not New York City in Queens.

Do you not understand hypotheticals? Is that the problem here? How would you feel if you didn't eat breakfast this morning?

And would you work for someone you thought was underpaying you?

I do understand your hypotheticals. I chose not to engage because they're stupid and repetitve.

Apparently it's not going well if you're really a welder coping and seething about people making 80k per year.

Ive always hated unions, simple as. And trying to justify shutting down half the ports for a little extra scratch is insane.

 

[oh no its pipkun]

If you live where these ports are. NYC, NJ, Boston. And are only making 80k then your poor. Its not greed to want to be able to afford a home. People need to live.
View attachment 6474071View attachment 6474073View attachment 6474074
People can rant about "bug hives" and getting what they voted for but this is the reality these guys have to live in. These ports are where they are. Its costs ALOT to live in commuting distance to them.

Again if you think 80K/yr is a lot of money in 2024 then your a mexican or stuck in 2014.
View attachment 6474093
Money printer goes BRRRRR!

thats all base pay isnt it? overtime can put people into the 120-200k range.

 

[JohnnyG]

so these guys make those numbers but with overtime. Overtime is failure. Overtime is balls and it's terrible. Would I work a few hours overtime at $100/hr? Sure. Would I work 70 hours every week to make those paychecks? Fuck no. Good luck with all that. If you really think it's some kind of win to make 150k by working 60+ hours weekly in a trade, you are retarded

Every trade has hungry young guys stacking overtime hours to double their takehome, and old timers coasting on their crazy high senior rate + specialization kicker. That's how you have $55/hr jobs with guys pulling 200k+/yr: the young guys do the 75 hour weeks, while the old timers have a high base plus a bunch of certifications so that 1 extra shift a week is earning them $125/hr and 60k/yr extra.

But your negative take on overtime just means that for you the Wealth Effect has overtaken the Income Effect: ask 10 people what doubling their hourly rate would do to the amount they work, and some will say more hours (Income Effect: each additional hour is more lucrative), while others would work the same or less (Wealth Effect: standard week leaves me with more, less need to work).

In these jobs guys usually start out doing the former, until they accumulate enough to settle into the latter. The union just constrains the number of workers so there's always unlimited overtime to whoever wants it.

 

[HOMO FOR LIFE RETURNS]

INFLATION TO THE MOON.

 

[Dagobert]

I do understand your hypotheticals. I chose not to engage because they're stupid and repetitve.

They're repetitive because you're not answering any and I have to ask them again.

Ive always hated unions, simple as. And trying to justify shutting down half the ports for a little extra scratch is ininsane

It really does sound like you're mad that people are making a better wage than you because you're bad at your job. Have you tried not being bad? Ironically, a union job would be great for you, because even as a bad worker you'll get paid the same as the good ones.

 

[VeteranOfTheRetardWars]

You say that like that'd be a bad thing.

NIGGA I LIVE HERE I LIKE SOCIETY I WANT RUNNING WATER.

 

[WelperHelper99]

They're repetitive because you're not answering any and I have to ask them again.

Yeah and its really funny you don't realize im not going to.

It really does sound like you're mad that people are making a better wage than you because you're bad at your job. Have you tried not being bad? Ironically, a union job would be great for you, because even as a bad worker you'll get paid the same as the good ones.

Im mad that they are shutting down PORTS YOU RETARD. PORTS. PORTS. They want to shut down half the nations ports for a couple bucks. Our supply chain is still crippled from covid, now they want to shut the ports down? No fuck you niggers, go to work and do your fucking jobs.

 

[Jump]

That's only in NY though. This affects most of the east coast. Most of the east coast is not New York City in Queens.

That is why I posted
Newark, NJ, (total shithole but still 400-500k homes)
Boston, MA,
Queens NY.
This is where the a lot of people working at these big ports have to live. So these areas are relevant.

I'll just ask you a direct question here.
Do you think 80k/yr is "a lot of money" in 2024? Yes or no?

 

[Kheapathic]

I had to babysit Teamsters at UPS once upon a time. If a part-time supervisor so much as touched a package, it was considered "stealing their work", and they'd bitch at you or file a grievance against you.

One of the reasons, I can at best say unions are out of date or have good ideas but evil execution. People scream unions are there to protect jobs, but they never enforce discipline or competency; they don't hold workshops, mandated training, or shit like that. You show up, hopefully shadow old-timers who won't fucking lie or tell you to fuck off, and maybe learn the job by watching or doing menial shit at the bottom; then they want to be praised that they're vital to workforce advancement. No surprise it's all the boomers who've had one job their entire life or the lazy incompetent types who argue union strong and shit like that.

 

[World Famous Quasi Payer]

If a strike were deemed a danger to U.S. economic health, President Joe Biden could, under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. This would suspend the strike.
All eyes are on what, if any, action the adminstration might take — particularly just weeks ahead of a tight presidential election. But Biden has signaled that he will not exercise this power.
During an exchange with reporters on Sunday, Biden said “no” when asked if he planned to intervene in the potential work stoppage.
“Because it’s collective bargaining, I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,” Biden said referring to a 1947 law that allows the president to intervene in labor disputes that threaten the nation’s health or safety.

A week at the most before he (or the people who really run things) use the law.