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.
 
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Nigga what.

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?
This is from the article linked that specifically talks about automation:
“We do not believe that robotics should take over a human being’s job,” he [Harold Daggett, the union president] said. “Especially a human being that’s historically performed that job.”

As an example, he pointed to a gate that automatically processes trucks without union labor at the port in Mobile, Alabama. The gate has been in place since 2008.

The Maritime Alliance has said it offered, as part of a new contract, to keep current provisions that bar fully automated terminals and block the use of semi-automated equipment without an agreement from both sides on protecting human jobs.
If a strike were to extend beyond a month or so, spot shortages of goods could develop. Some manufacturers could run short of parts, notably in the auto and pharmaceutical industries, which generally don’t stock large parts inventories. Exports of autos and other goods that move through the East Coast also could be affected.
They are mainly using the election as leverage.

At the huge Port of Rotterdam, one of the world’s most automated ports, union workers pushed for early-retirement packages and work-time reductions as a means to preserve jobs. And in the end, mechanization didn’t cause significant job losses, a researcher from Erasmus University in the Netherlands found.
And will probably ask for benefits like these
 
Nigga what.

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?
no longshoreman on either coast wants automation. that's jobs gone and the savings arent passed to the customers.

And in the end, mechanization didn’t cause significant job losses,
yeah, acceptable losses that wont have a knock on effect later

e: i also forgot, the current automated cranes in Ameirca are made by china and have remote access built in.
 
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Pretty much every business uses the internet. An internet shutdown would crash society. No fucking way.
That's without even mentioning international trade. Those are $10 trillion dollars of financial transactions every day on undersea cables alone, and the global e-commerce market size is estimated to be aroun $26T in 2023 and growing
 
Does your average everyday American give a flying fuck about dockworkers strikes? True, no one wants their grocery store cleaned out or whatever scare story. I get it...

But we all know dockworkers are massively overpaid compared to all other bluecolor workers throughout the country. They have one of the cushiest union packages left in modern America. How many hardworking truck drivers have gone broke across the country while the dockworkers complained about their coffee or whatever?

I'm far more worried about small town factory workers, truck drivers, licensed and qualified electrical or HVAC workers crushed by immigration.
Pretty much every business uses the internet. An internet shutdown would crash society. No fucking way.
An true and absolute internet shutdown for a few months would be so goddamn hilarious it would be worth sitting at home eating old bags of rice.
 
This is from the article linked that specifically talks about automation:


They are mainly using the election as leverage.


And will probably ask for benefits like these
I mean I do understand where they're coming from. At the same time... you're shutting down half the ports in the country. A part of me hopes history repeats itself
1912_Lawrence_Textile_Strike_1.jpg
(Textile strike of 1912).

Fuck unions, bust em up.
 
Nigga what.

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?
No, they're serious.

Ironic.


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.
 
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