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.

 

[Curzon Dax-sama]

Could just be my bad experiences speaking, but Unions are just another gang you have to suck up to, they say they protect you from the management, but I've seen more personal damage done by unions then the scary management they pretend to shield the workers from. I'll admit a number of things they argue for are good on paper, but almost always seem to enforce the opposite when put into practice; then when you get pissed over it, they tell you to shut up and be grateful they're looking out for you.

Unions used to be useful. But that was a very long time ago. Now they're just as feudalistic and nepotistic as the corporations and their practises are very similiar. Current year+9 unions are fucking useless. I should know, I've been in one.

 

[A Real Munson]

They are still grossly overpaid even by union standards, that's with inflation.

How grossly overpaid are they? What I found says that longshoreman early in their careers (1-4 years in) earn just over $24/hour. I couldn't easily find a median. Is $24/hour too much?

I think you forget what Reagan did with the air traffic controllers.

What do you mean, I forget? Reagan was a massive faggot and if there is any justice he's burning in hell.

All they wish to do is enrich themselves. There is no trickle down effect.

$24/hour is around $50,000. How much do you think truck drivers make?

Fuck em. Fuck em all. Hope they get their skulls caved in by the National guard.

Bro, are you okay?

 

[Kheapathic]

Unions used to be useful. But that was a very long time ago. Now they're just as feudalistic and nepotistic as the corporations and their practises are very similiar. Current year+9 unions are fucking useless. I should know, I've been in one.

Only ever had one union job, and it was because unionship was a requirement of getting the job. I got the job on my own merits/military taught me a skill, and eventually, hey, I get a 25cent/hr raise; but my union dues and healthcare and pretty much everything else went up, so I was actually losing $50 a paycheck under the new negotiation. And I'm like, first of all, I didn't fucking ask anyone to negotiate for me, second of all, I'm taking a paycut, third, why the fuck would anyone agree to this shit. Union leadership pretty much told me to shut up and be thankful the union even got me this job; told them I got the job cause I have a skill, and the union didn't teach me shit. All other problems I've seen are with my family and extended family who are majority railroad and all the shit the UTU and BLE has done. I'm sure they had their place once upon a time, but it's just a fucking racket anymore; I don't want anyone from my job, sending me a newsletter telling me how to vote, what the fuck is this shit.

Now that I think about it, I can't really tell the difference between unions and democracy, you get a say in how shit goes... somehow it's never how I want it to go.

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

I wouldn't give a shit if most of the shit here wasn't imported from the US and probably comes from the East coast...

 

[The Gene Genie]

Let it happen. Sink this Administration and this Empire even more.

 

[GunCar Gary]

All they wish to do is enrich themselves.

reposting my comment from the happening thread because details about the salaries they're demanding aren't detailed in THIS article either

since the original article didn't mention it, here's one of the main demands by the workers in addition to banning ports from implementing any and all automation

Article | Archive

Union workers at ports in the East and Gulf coasts earn a base wage of $39 an hour after six years on the job compared to reports that West Coast union workers, which make $54.85 an hour.

The International Longshoremen's Association is demanding a 77% pay raise increase over six years and more restrictions and bans on the automation of cranes, gates and container movements used in loading or unloading of cargo.

According to news sources, USMX responded with an offer of 40% in wage increases, but the union rejected it, calling the counter “a joke.”

union scum already making the median household income of ~$80K and turning up their noses at only getting a raise that would put them at a measly ~$112K instead of the ~$143K they want

i hope they all get replaced with machines

 

[High-Fructose Corn Syrup]

I think Biden (or those controlled him) are pissed at Kamala for pushing him out. This is just their revenge.

No Kween Kamala voter is going to change their vote because of this. Remember this election is about "we're not going back" and "reproductive rights" to them.

 

[JohnnyG]

Are they serious? Or is this one of those things where early in a negotiation you demand something obviously retarded, so you can drop it later and pretend you're open to reasonable compromise?

Because when contanerized freight became a thing in the 60's? They also tried to strike against it's implementation and wanted to keep the old style of stacking crates and sacks because it took more longshoremen to do that than just pluck the stuff up like lego bricks.

This reminds me of The Wire where the union guy goes in to the shipping management meeting to play hardball, and instead it's a presentation about all the automation the Dutch have already used to make a lot of manual tasks irrelevant. I believe this episode would've been around 2003:

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How grossly overpaid are they? What I found says that longshoreman early in their careers (1-4 years in) earn just over $24/hour. I couldn't easily find a median. Is $24/hour too much?

Most union blue collar jobs like this have a steep earnings curve, which I guess lets management have a certain amount of cheap entry labor, in exchange for very cushy pay for the senior guys. The hourly rate will also stack up for certifications...not sure about longshoremen but common for welders and airline mechanics.

I remember years ago reading about West coast longshoreman making 200-250k/yr, and a quick search now has the East coast union claiming an average of 150k/yr, plus a 35k healthcare package. The union restricting bodies means there's always unlimited overtime, so the CA number was probably 125k-175k base plus 50-100k overtime.

Take a job whose average wage is $55/hour, or $110k/year. You'll have a bunch of senior guys whose base is $70/hour, then get certs worth another $10/hour, so their full time pay is $160k. Then 10hrs/week in overtime at 1.5x (or night shifts, or other multiplier conditions) adds $60k/yr. That's how a $55/hr job pays $220k.

reposting my comment from the happening thread because details about the salaries they're demanding aren't detailed in THIS article either

I was posting at the same time you did, but it's funny how your example has the same $55/hr I used. See above on why $40/hr & $55/hr are way more than $80k & $110k/yr in these jobs.

 

[LaxerBRO]

How grossly overpaid are they? What I found says that longshoreman early in their careers (1-4 years in) earn just over $24/hour. I couldn't easily find a median. Is $24/hour too much?

The pay is dependent on location, skill, and experience.

In Lewiston, Idaho, the bulk grain workers get around $30 to $40.

At the major ports, you start off as a casual which means that you have to be assigned a port dock where you will work for a vessel or a set # of days.

The jobs for those are mainly driving tractors that receive a cntr and you take it to somewhere on the dock. For this, I think it's about $40 an hour. But the downside is that your work is infrequent as people select you for only a specific job. Such, you can be busy one week but not work the next.

A step up from that is permanent where you have worked enough hours and gotten enough experience that your hired to a port. The job is still basically the same but it comes with higher pay, $45 and stability.

The next level is where you get to stack the Legos using a forklift. This means a pay bump buy it requires more skill and responsibilities, your compensation is around $50.


The second job from the top is a straddle loader where you need to stack containers from the tractors to a large pile and vice versa. The pay for this is about $55.


Finally, the top job is using the port crane. This requires the most experience but comes with the most pay at around $60.


^Per some semi-retired union longshoremen picking up non union work in Idaho.

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I don't have an issue with their pay being higher than the median as nearly all ocean ports are in regions with higher cost of living.

Even if the longshoremen make $60 an hour, that only about $120,00 for areas like NYC, Seattle, and L.A.

 

[WonderWino]

A background check is needed for port work which was due to 9/11.

It takes about a month to process the request.

Background checks are required at tons of places that don't bother with them. You might be surprised at how common it is

 

[Soycast Guy]

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

It is a bad thing. Our entire world is propped up by the internet. Take that away, and we’d be royally fucked. And there would go all your modern comforts. Then again, not too comforting to think the world is hanging by a thread, huh?

 

[WelperHelper99]

How grossly overpaid are they? What I found says that longshoreman early in their careers (1-4 years in) earn just over $24/hour. I couldn't easily find a median. Is $24/hour too much?

What do you mean, I forget? Reagan was a massive faggot and if there is any justice he's burning in hell.

$24/hour is around $50,000. How much do you think truck drivers make?

Bro, are you okay?

This is their pay

reposting my comment from the happening thread because details about the salaries they're demanding aren't detailed in THIS article either

Well over 80k. They are soft handed pussies. Truck drivers and everyone else make far less. And now they're demanding MORE, NOW? Are you out of your fucking mind?! No, fuck them with a rusty spoon, they are greedy greedy greedy. They have it good but are being pussies.

 

[Velanna]

View attachment 6472859
KF also has a thread about it

https://kiwifarms.st/threads/longshoremen-union-port-strike-2024.201417/

The West Coast is not affected because its workers are part of a different union that already renewed their contracts

Does this mean that it will get harder for areas affected by helene to get supplies?

 

[Sexy Peach Emoji]

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.

So what was it when he crushed the railroad workers strike?

 

[Glowing In The Streets]

Where is "strike breaker" Joe when you need him?

 

[Toji Suzuhara]

Does this mean that it will get harder for areas affected by helene to get supplies?

It is a posibility. Altough many articles say that most people won't feel a difference until after a month of the strike starting, Helene hit the southeast very hard, and that place is basically the furthest away that you can get from a non-ILA port

 

[Dagobert]

This is their pay

Well over 80k. They are soft handed pussies. Truck drivers and everyone else make far less. And now they're demanding MORE, NOW? Are you out of your fucking mind?! No, fuck them with a rusty spoon, they are greedy greedy greedy. They have it good but are being pussies.

Why not push for other jobs to make more then, instead of these guys less. If they're able to negotiate such a high rate, then that's literally how the system of capitalism is supposed to work; there is enough demand for their labor that it is paid highly.

Being obligated to work for lower wages than what demand would provide because other people make less is literal socialist claptrap.

 

[John Badman]

Where is "strike breaker" Joe when you need him?

Listen here Jack, Ol’ Scranton Joe is in Delaware doing important business! Monitoring the hurricane by which way it blows his long leg hair, that turns blonde in the sun. Until Americans face a day where they can’t afford 2 scoops of Chocochoco chip he’s doing just fine Blackie. We beat Hurricane Cantina. C’mon man.

 

[WelperHelper99]

Why not push for other jobs to make more then, instead of these guys less. If they're able to negotiate such a high rate, then that's literally how the system of capitalism is supposed to work; there is enough demand for their labor that it is paid highly.

Being obligated to work for lower wages than what demand would provide because other people make less is literal socialist claptrap.

You don't do it by shutting down half the countries ports in a temper tantrum because you want a few more G's on your paystub. That is fucking greed. You don't need to be communist to call out greedy self serving behavior that only benefits one group at the cost of literally everyone. Fuck em.

 

[lIllllIiiiiLLLLiiiiIIIIll]

I have no strong opinion about this topic. But I wonder at some level whether this is astroturf just to have something to point at as "suffering in the Biden/Harris administration". I feel like Trump's election team is now at the stage where they instigate wherever they can in hopes of a scandal catching on in the media. Not saying it's just a Trump thing either. The fact that 2020 was the lockdown year EXCEPT for major BLM demonstrations which were honored and encouraged nationwide was the liberal version of pulling this BS. You spread the idea that the incumbent is fucking up however you can.

Sorry in advance for posting this. Feel free to vent your anger in reactions.