International Longshoreman's Association Strike Begins...

[Josh128]

To be clear, Im not pro or anti union. I used to be president of my local chapter of the International Chemical Workers Union Council / AFL-CIO. Unions have their place, but they can be detrimental also. Ive been on both sides. On one hand, strongarming the company and telling them no-automation / no advancement is ridiculous. The union doesnt own the company-- its role is not to run the company or control it, its role is to provide competant labor to the company and fair wages and working conditions for the workers.

On the other hand, the apparent price gouging on the American consumer is getting out of control, and COVID era pricing is being used as a cover to absolutely rape end consumers on many things, a vast majority of which come through these ports. From $6K to $30K in a few years makes no sense whatsoever.

“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.”

Why are dockworkers at the Port of Houston striking? What are their demands?

A strike by the ILA workers would be the first by the union since 1977 and could have major impacts on the U.S. economy

www.click2houston.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1840978352997306404

This could be ugly. This guy seems to be dead serious.

 

[Brovane]

On the other hand, the apparent price gouging on the American consumer is getting out of control, and COVID era pricing is being used as a cover to absolutely rape end consumers on many things, a vast majority of which come through these ports. From $6K to $30K in a few years makes no sense whatsoever.

I am not seeing shipping rates at $30k per 40ft container. Right now we are around $4k. Things spiked in late 2021 early 2022 to $20k but has gone back down a lot since then.

https://www.drewry.co.uk/supply-cha...tise/world-container-index-assessed-by-drewry

 

[Fenixgoon]

I work in a unionized facility but am non-union (engineer, not assembly worker or technician). In general I'm in agreement with you. Sometimes unions can go a little overboard (like no automation), but in general they are the only way for people to push back against corporate abuse and exploitation. Just look at Amazons warehouses and how they're run. A union would make sure people had safe working conditions and reasonable performance expectations instead of being ground into dust.

 

[Jaskalas]

This could be ugly. This guy seems to be dead serious.

October surprise, chaos and empty store shelves?
That man will be dead serious if he gets Trump elected.

 

[K1052]

October surprise, chaos and empty store shelves?
That man will be dead serious if he gets Trump elected.

Everybody who imports knew this was a possibility and spent months building up inventories in advance or rerouting shipments through the west coast ports. There will be impact but it's going to lag on a lot of stuff.

The irony is that I'm sure most longshoremen are voting Tump who would have certainly used Taft-Hartley to stop them from striking. It is a risky move if it drags as there are Democrats who are starting to say F these unions if they are going to betray us politically after getting basically everything they want from the Biden admin. ILA could certainly take blame in a Harris loss scenario. IIRC, last time this happened the ILWU respected ILA pickets on the west coast too but it doesn't sound like they are interested in that this time having recently secured their own contract and also endorsed Harris.

 

[Fenixgoon]

October surprise, chaos and empty store shelves?
That man will be dead serious if he gets Trump elected.

This is my big worry.

 

[Brainonska511]

If they want to bargain for better pay and working conditions, go for it.

However, I think their demand to ban port automation is a bad thing. It should be a good thing when technology can make things more efficient. Use the bargaining table to secure an exit ramp or new opportunities as further automation is introduced.

 

[Fenixgoon]

If they want to bargain for better pay and working conditions, go for it.

However, I think their demand to ban port automation is a bad thing. It should be a good thing when technology can make things more efficient. Use the bargaining table to secure an exit ramp or new opportunities as further automation is introduced.

I think what people really want is some sort of fallback. Automation means they lose their jobs. They don't directly benefit from it. So of course they push back because it takes away their means of survival.

While there is no legal requirement, I think a socially-conscious company would do everything possible to help displaced workers find new jobs.

 

[Brainonska511]

I think what people really want is some sort of fallback. Automation means they lose their jobs. They don't directly benefit from it. So of course they push back because it takes away their means of survival.

While there is no legal requirement, I think a socially-conscious company would do everything possible to help displaced workers find new jobs.

Yes, that's what I would want to see: find new jobs for people as you introduce automation, or give them a very nice parachute.

One other thing that doesn't make the longshoreman's union very sympathetic: they make it very difficult to join - almost like a job protection racket.

 

[K1052]

or give them a very nice parachute.

I think this is what the west coast union essentially settled for to cover existing workers but permitting some automation in the ports.

One other thing that doesn't make the longshoreman's union very sympathetic: they make it very difficult to join - almost like a job protection racket.

Basically a closed ecosystem of families and personal connections. So yea this does not argue in their favor.

 

[MrSquished]

This is another Oct surprise, the union leader looks to be in the bag for Trump and purposely wants to hurt Biden. He met with Trump at Mar A Lago and has criticized Biden plenty, one of the most pro union presidents. These Trumpers are pure evil

Howroute (@howroute) on Threads

Meet Harold Daggette, the ILA dockworkers union president, who described in detail how he’s going to tank the economy within a month, starting October 1st, and threatened a confrontation with the Biden administration over the Taft-Hartley Act, adding: “I will cripple you!”. Earlier, he was...

www.threads.net

 

[K1052]

This is another Oct surprise, the union leader looks to be in the bag for Trump and purposely wants to hurt Biden. He met with Trump at Mar A Lago and has criticized Biden plenty, one of the most pro union presidents. These Trumpers are pure evil

Howroute (@howroute) on Threads

Meet Harold Daggette, the ILA dockworkers union president, who described in detail how he’s going to tank the economy within a month, starting October 1st, and threatened a confrontation with the Biden administration over the Taft-Hartley Act, adding: “I will cripple you!”. Earlier, he was...

www.threads.net

Non zero chance that with this guy shooting his mouth off about holding the American economy hostage for demands that are unthinkable to like everybody else in the country and engage in a job action if Biden uses T-H authority that people might just assign blame to the union itself and nobody else. Terrible sales job for their position and unions generally.

 

[MrSquished]

is this a unilateral action by this mobster Trumper union president or did he take a vote with his union to strike?

 

[Josh128]

Strikes must be enacted via membership vote.


Who said this guy is voting for Trump? Voting red has been heresy for leaders of large unions for a very long time. I would find that very surprising.

 

[K1052]

Strikes must be enacted via membership vote.


Who said this guy is voting for Trump? Voting red has been heresy for leaders of large unions for a very long time. I would find that very surprising.

Cultural realignment is drawing the actual members of many unions into the MAGA camp, against their own interests.

 

[K1052]

The more I read about Harold Dagget the more convinced I become that people, if they become aware of similar information, are going to be really really unsympathetic to him and the ILA.

 

[hal2kilo]

If they want to bargain for better pay and working conditions, go for it.

However, I think their demand to ban port automation is a bad thing. It should be a good thing when technology can make things more efficient. Use the bargaining table to secure an exit ramp or new opportunities as further automation is introduced.

With AI in the wings, what they are fighting now will be nothing compared to what's heading our way.

 

[fskimospy]

Fighting to keep things inefficient as a jobs program is a terrible idea. As @K1052 mentioned the west coast unions made a bargain for increased automation so long as they shared in the additional profits, which seems very reasonable to me. Saying we will not improve things is not reasonable.

 

[BoomerD]

This is another Oct surprise, the union leader looks to be in the bag for Trump and purposely wants to hurt Biden. He met with Trump at Mar A Lago and has criticized Biden plenty, one of the most pro union presidents. These Trumpers are pure evil

Howroute (@howroute) on Threads

Meet Harold Daggette, the ILA dockworkers union president, who described in detail how he’s going to tank the economy within a month, starting October 1st, and threatened a confrontation with the Biden administration over the Taft-Hartley Act, adding: “I will cripple you!”. Earlier, he was...

www.threads.net

ILA President Harold Daggett Asks ILA Members To Pray For Former President Donald Trump and Victims at Saturday’s Pennsylvania Rally; Recalls Productive Meeting Last November With Trump – ILA Union

ilaunion.org

“ILA President Daggett enjoys a long relationship with Donald Trump going back decades in New York City. Both Trump and Daggett are the same age and were both from Queens, New York.In late November 2023, former President Trump invited the ILA president to meet with him in Florida at Mar-a-Lago,“We had a wonderful, productive 90-minute meeting where I expressed to President Trump the threat of automation to American workers,” said ILA President Harold Daggett. “President Trump promised to support the ILA in its opposition to automated terminals in the U.S. Mr. Trump also listened to my concerns about Federal “Right To Work” laws which undermines unions and their ability to represent and fight for its membership.”

 

[brycejones]

Automation isn’t bad, what we need to do is make sure the benefits of productivity gains flow to workers which will strengthen the economy overall instead of just flowing to the investor class.

This is what happened in the 50’s and was huge part of building a very strong middle class.

 

[Brainonska511]

ILA President Harold Daggett Asks ILA Members To Pray For Former President Donald Trump and Victims at Saturday’s Pennsylvania Rally; Recalls Productive Meeting Last November With Trump – ILA Union

ilaunion.org

What a rube.

 

[nickqt]

What a rube.

Not if he can sell the Union for scrap and become a billionaire. That is the plan here. None of what they are doing is some secret plan they just figured out.

Fascists rely on conservatives, oligarchs, and tech/industrialists. Always have, always will.

That's why there's a whole cadre of Apartheid-American billionaires supporting Trump with all their might and wealth.

 

[Josh128]

Automation isn’t bad, what we need to do is make sure the benefits of productivity gains flow to workers which will strengthen the economy overall instead of just flowing to the investor class.

This is what happened in the 50’s and was huge part of building a very strong middle class.

Without automation and machinery, we wouldnt have 8 billion people on the planet right now. Not even close. The amount of rice, wheat, corn, or soybeans that can be harvested from the field, separated from the ear, head, or pod, and conveyed into a tractor trailer by a single John Deere or Case IH combine harvester per hour is mind boggling. You are talking about work that would take literally tens of thousands of people with sickles and other tools to cut, shuck, and load manually. This is just the harvest, plowing, planting, and growing is similar.

Can anyone imagine the cost (and availability) of chips, pasta, bread or cereal if some dudes with knives and oxen pulling a cart had to do that amount of work? You couldnt, because it wouldnt even be possible, lol.

Fighting against a companies advancement in automation and machinery to increase production is a losing proposition for employees. For owners/employers, not taking advantage of advancements to keep pace with competition is a surefire way to go out of business.

 

[brycejones]

Without automation and machinery, we wouldnt have 8 billion people on the planet right now. Not even close. The amount of rice, wheat, corn, or soybeans that can be harvested from the field, separated from the ear, head, or pod, and conveyed into a tractor trailer by a single John Deere or Case IH combine per hour is mind boggling. You are talking about work that would take literally tens of thousands of people with sickles and other tools to cut, shuck, and load manually. This is just the harvest, plowing, planting, and growing is similar.

Can anyone imagine the cost (and availability) of chips, pasta, bread or cereal if some dudes with knives and oxen pulling a cart had to do that amount of work? You couldnt, because it wouldnt even be possible, lol.

Fighting against a companies advancement in automation and machinery to increase production is a losing proposition for employees. For owners/employers, not taking advantage of advancements to keep pace with competition is a sure fire way to go out of business.

Where do you think we disagree?

 

[BoomerD]

Without automation and machinery, we wouldnt have 8 billion people on the planet right now. Not even close. The amount of rice, wheat, corn, or soybeans that can be harvested from the field, separated from the ear, head, or pod, and conveyed into a tractor trailer by a single John Deere or Case IH combine per hour is mind boggling. You are talking about work that would take literally tens of thousands of people with sickles and other tools to cut, shuck, and load manually. This is just the harvest, plowing, planting, and growing is similar.

Can anyone imagine the cost (and availability) of chips, pasta, bread or cereal if some dudes with knives and oxen pulling a cart had to do that amount of work? You couldnt, because it wouldnt even be possible, lol.

Fighting against a companies advancement in automation and machinery to increase production is a losing proposition for employees. For owners/employers, not taking advantage of advancements to keep pace with competition is a sure fire way to go out of business.

OMFG! Them horseless carriages are going to wreak havoc on the horse, carriage, and wagon industries!