Tag: unions

Some things are true — for collectivist communists and individualist capitalists, for all people, regardless of who they are.

For decades now, Americans have been inundated with propaganda that the only entity that cares for them is found in the Democrat party, as collectivism has been promoted as America’s savior and individualism and individual liberty have been castigated as “selfish” and self-serving.  But although there is no shame in looking out for one’s own interests, there is plenty of shame in it when you put the entire population and the nation at risk in the process, which is precisely what the International Longshoreman’s Association is doing, as it just went on strike, four and a half short years after the supply chain suffered a catastrophic break and economic repercussions the nation is still handling. 

Unionists and collectivists claim to be for “the little man” and “the working man,” but in reality, they are only for themselves.  They are special interest groups primarily seeking to make gains for only those who are associated with them, and to hell with all others. 

Early last month, the president and chief negotiator of the longshoremen’s union, Harold Daggett, detailed (15 min., 24 sec. mark) how he would shut the nation down unless his demands were met: “I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means.  Nobody does.”

Yes, it certainly does sound as though Daggett and his people stand for the working man and all Americans, as one can readily see and understand that such a tactic will hurt all Americans, some more than others.  But these collectivists make anywhere between $85,000 and $200,000 a year, depending on how much overtime they work, whereas the average salary in America is approximately $56K.  Their demands are both unreasonable and unrealistic, as they now demand “a 77% percent pay raise increase over six years” and chafe against new technology for fear of lost jobs.  They all have nice little nest eggs set aside and can weather this shutdown infinitely better than those making only minimum wage, who will suffer during this strike, as shelves empty and many products become impossible to find, and all products’ prices rise to new, exorbitant highs. 

The cost of this strike will be approximately $4.5 billion per day, according to investment bank J.P. Morgan.  For each day, one can expect a week to recover, compounding the problem exponentially the longer it lasts.  You can bet your bottom dollar that the corporations will pass along this loss to consumers in higher prices for everything.

Americans concerned over individual liberty would never do this.  We understand that the best solutions are those that only serve all Americans equally.

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Just in case getting supplies isn’t expensive enough (or difficult enough in the areas hit by Hurricane Helene), now the dockworkers from Maine to Texas have gone on strike. And whether they win or lose their standoff, it’s the American consumers who will lose the most.

Last night, at midnight, the contract between the ports and nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired. Workers immediately walked off the job. Thirty-six ports are currently affected by the strike.

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What do the dockworkers want?

Well, your mileage may vary. Here’s their statement:

In a statement to ABC News early Tuesday, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) confirmed the union’s first coastwide strike in nearly 50 years was underway. The statement said that “tens of thousands of ILA rank-and-file members” started to set up picket lines at shipping ports up and down the Atlantic and Gulf coasts as of 12:01 am.

“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay out on strike for whatever period of time it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation our ILA members deserve,” ILA President Harold Daggett said.

Other information was added.

“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay out on strike for whatever period of time it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation our ILA members deserve,” Daggett said in the statement. “They must now meet our demands for this strike to end.”

The fight against having their jobs taken over by robot dockworkers is understandable. They note that the shipping companies made billions of dollars during the pandemic, and they feel some of that should trickle down.

The union’s opening offer in the talks was for a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with president Harold Daggett saying it’s necessary to make up for inflation and years of small raises.

ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime.

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Americans are now staring down the barrel of another crisis — this time, a strike involving 45,000 dock workers from Maine to Texas.

The result? A looming economic catastrophe that could cost the U.S. a staggering $5 billion in just one day while Americans brace for another skyrocketing inflation and severe supply chain disruptions.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), representing workers at 36 ports from Maine to Texas, has made clear that the strike is not only about wages but also about job protection in the face of creeping automation.

The strike began early Tuesday morning as the contract between the ILA and the  United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) expired without a resolution.

“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”, the ILA said in a statement.

“ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing. It’s disgraceful that most of these foreign-owned shipping companies are engaged in a ‘Make and Take’ operation: They want to make their billion-dollar profits at United States ports, and off the backs of American ILA longshore workers, and take those earnings out of this country and into the pockets of foreign conglomerates. Meanwhile, ILA dedicated longshore workers continue to be crippled by inflation due to USMX’s unfair wage packages.“

“In addition, the shippers are gouging their customers that result in increased costs to American consumers. They are now charging $30,000 for a full container, a whopping increase from $6,000 per container just a few weeks ago. In just a short time, they went from 6K, to 18K, then 24K and now $30,000. It’s unheard of and they are doubling their $30,000 fee stuffing the same container from multiple shippers. They are killing the customers,” the ILA concluded.

The union’s demands include a 77% pay raise over six years, a fair request considering the astronomical cost of living increases under Biden regime, and no automated machinery.

Workers began picketing at the Port of Philadelphia and Port Houston, among other locations, carrying signs that read, “No Work Without a Fair Contract.”

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