Ken wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2024 4:35 pm
It’s too bad BOTH sides can’t lose this one.
Because the shipping companies they are striking against did an absolute enormous amount of profiteering during the pandemic by tripling shipping rates and pocketing hundreds of billions in windfall profits and being a major cause of the inflation spike we had in 2021.
Shipping and trucking rates were crazy for sure - leading among other things to a large influx of new truck drivers to the industry, which was then part of the reason for the subsequent crash we have seen more recently. Plenty from every type of trucking business, from owner operators to whole trucking companies, have gone out of business. I.e. Yellow Freight, the largest bankruptcy filing in trucking history.
It evens itself out. Let the market do its thing, the money they have made can be lost pretty quickly.
That is what is happening. Labor is part of the market too. The relationship between the longshoremen and shipping companies is just a market relationship like the relationship between the shipping companies and their customers.
But the longshoremen union is the mob. And it is monopolistic. And should be broken up, just as the giant meat companies and tech companies should. At this point it isn't free market, it in a monopoly.
In principle, I agree that workers should have the right to unionize. But they shouldn't have the right to monopolize as they do.
I’ve no respect for longshoremen’s work ethic, nor pity for their pay scale. They are a bunch of overpaid babies who haven’t put in an honest day of work for decades.
The White House Press Secretary disagrees with you. Today she said these very hard working longshoremen deserve better wages, better benefits etc.
Not everything is about presidential politics. For example, the head of the longshoreman’s union is Harold Daggett who is big Trump supporter with ties to organized crime.
But that isn’t why they are striking. They are striking for more money.
0 x
A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
I think we need stronger protections for workers, but this illustrates what is wrong with unions. There has been a surge of support for unions the last few years, but if this strike isn’t fixed and causes disruptions I see a lot of that progress being erased. Small groups of workers creating major disruptions for compensation that isn’t commensurate with level of skill etc doesn’t sit well with people. This type of union activity is like rent control - It is good for a small number of people and makes life worse for everyone else.
Shipping and trucking rates were crazy for sure - leading among other things to a large influx of new truck drivers to the industry, which was then part of the reason for the subsequent crash we have seen more recently. Plenty from every type of trucking business, from owner operators to whole trucking companies, have gone out of business. I.e. Yellow Freight, the largest bankruptcy filing in trucking history.
It evens itself out. Let the market do its thing, the money they have made can be lost pretty quickly.
That is what is happening. Labor is part of the market too. The relationship between the longshoremen and shipping companies is just a market relationship like the relationship between the shipping companies and their customers.
But the longshoremen union is the mob. And it is monopolistic. And should be broken up, just as the giant meat companies and tech companies should. At this point it isn't free market, it in a monopoly.
In principle, I agree that workers should have the right to unionize. But they shouldn't have the right to monopolize as they do.
It is basically two monopolies battling each other. The big shippers have monopoly control over container shipping in the ports as well.
The longshoremen are among the most unsympathetic bunch of blue collar workers in this country. I'm sure we are going to hear endless stories in the upcoming days about the yachts and homes owned by their union leader and his mob ties. Probably less so about the yachts owned by the executives of the big shipping companies and how many millions they made during the pandemic.
I have no idea how this will come out. But there are billions of profits in shipping and I'm sure they will wind up getting a slice of because they have leverage. But they can't do this forever or the government will intervene.
0 x
A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
R7ehr wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2024 1:23 pm
I’ve no respect for longshoremen’s work ethic, nor pity for their pay scale. They are a bunch of overpaid babies who haven’t put in an honest day of work for decades.
I’ve drove container trucks to the port and had to deal with their infantile petty behaviors.
They should all be fired.
Meaning unclear.
It is a matter of some difficulty to regard with esteem the manner in which certain labors at the docks are conducted, nor can I find much sympathy for the remuneration they receive. From my own encounters, having once been engaged in the conveyance of goods to those quarters, I observed behaviors that were, at best, unbecoming and rather trifling in nature.
One might be inclined to believe that a thorough reordering of such affairs is long overdue.
I kid yo not, when this is all over, the "Clerks and Checkers" will have a go at it as well. They actually fight each other.
That’s good to hear. Today I saw that governor DeSantis in Florida was going to get the national guard to operate the port under the reasoning that it is a time of emergency due to the hurricane damage. I was really curious how that was going to work.
ken_sylvania wrote: ↑Fri Oct 04, 2024 11:12 am
Does anyone know what is meant by the "sacrifices made by the ILA workers during the Covid pandemic?
Probably the same sacrifices as many other jobs and businesses during that time, working long hours for lots of money
Some people were glad for the extra money but others would have preferred more time at home or more time with their family. A nurse friend here in central PA was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted after those two years, and would have gladly spent more time at home rather than make more money. Some occupations are more draining than others.