It’s a lovely country. Shame if something were to happen to it.
He says if the government forces them to return to work, they will just show up and do almost nothing while collecting a paycheck. That should happen, and anyone who works at a production rate that is less than 80 percent of their average rate should be terminated immediately and without appeal.
Longshoremen make an average of $70 per hour, and are demanding a 77% raise- to an average of $124 per hour. THAT is why your dumb asses are being automated out of a job. All you do is drive a forklift or operate a crane. That simply isn’t a valuable enough skill to demand that kind of scratch, and it is far cheaper to get a robot to do your job than it is to pay you more than a quarter million a year to load and unload cargo.
Oh, and the union boss? He makes a million a year, owns a large yacht and a mansion. All paid for by the union dues of those whose best interests he claims to represent.
17 Comments
Anonymous · October 3, 2024 at 7:36 am
Re: automation. It’s coming whether the strike is “successful” or not. The strike will simply hasten the process.
Birdog357 · October 3, 2024 at 7:56 am
100% mafia. Unions need to be abolished. The feds backing them up is a violation of the 1a protection of free association. A business should have the right to fire anyone they want.
Elrod · October 3, 2024 at 8:16 am
The predicate condition was government-, financial- and business-driven offshoring of as much manufacturing as possible to improve the financial condition of American businesses.
To capitalize on the shortcomings of others is a natural human trait; “learn from others’ mistakes” is a reasonable process, and if someone is stupid enough to pursue short term benefit at the cost of individual business and/or national benefit, it would be stupid to not take advantage of it. Hence, grossly overpaid low skill workers moving containers around.
But….
1. Automation is coming because of basic costs and the Time Value of Money.
There is no way to stop it, regardless of the industry..
2. Automation will result in fewer mid- to low-skill jobs (like forklift driver).
3. Fewer jobs means less in dues, and less in pay for “top managers” of those
performing mid- andlow-skill jobs.
4. Thus, automation will be resisted to the maximum degree.
Where to from here? First, a national policy of re-shoring business and industry, which will require immense political changes and concomitmant massive changes in the financial industry which affect future valuation of business activities and the subsequent financial reward.
It can be done, but it will require putting some blood on the floor. Probably a lot of blood on the floor. Do Americans have the stomach – and patience – for that?
I dunno. I’m not optimistic.
Henry · October 3, 2024 at 9:08 am
US ports are among the least efficient, least productive, in the world. ILA union rules maximize union income while minimizing efficiency. The word “featherbedding” comes to mind, just like it did on the railroads back in the day.
Wilson · October 3, 2024 at 9:17 am
I have to laugh when I read that longshoremen get paid $20-$39 an hour. More like $40 dollars for first day on the job up to $75-$100 an hour after 6 months. Oh , and time and a half if you start before your start time , time and a half after 8 hours , double time after 12 hours. Also pay differental for nights and weekends.
oldvet50 · October 3, 2024 at 9:45 am
As to the title of your post: po-tay-to, po-tah-to.
I cannot believe this guy said the things he said and not fear for his life. If we had a President, those workers would be phased out with military folks until new workers could be trained. I seem to remember Raegan and ATCs.
WDS · October 3, 2024 at 10:09 am
Be a shame if a container dropped on him but i doubt he gets that close
to actual work.
Michael · October 3, 2024 at 10:39 am
Was talking about the mafia threat with a liberal blogger.
His defense went from “the little guy showed power and that’s bad?” To attacking anyone who wasn’t “Labor Friendly ” to strawman arguments that “not what he meant ” threatening to “cripple America ” and so on.
Arguments that the strke threatens the some 90% of our daily medicine and people may die for lack of heart or diabetic medicine was waved off as “Big Business ” fault.
And BTW I have chatted with this guy for years and think of him as a almost reasonable liberal.
What do you think the UN-reasonable ones think and likely act out?
Getting time for the 4th box I suspect.
Marc · October 3, 2024 at 10:43 am
The least can be said is,,they’re delaying the inevitable,,,China owns our ports,,they’re fighting global homo and gonna lose..Treehouse has excellent review on this as usual.
Exile1981 · October 3, 2024 at 11:03 am
Back in the 90’s I was at college taking 2 engineering degrees. I took a part time job at residence as an RA – basically security/emergency contact and guidance counselor. You had to have a private room if you did the job, a private room was $350 a month. Pay was $354 a month. Except RA’s had to be part of the college staff union at $60 a month.
I read the union hand book and found out every member was welcome to attend the monthly union meeting, which included a catered supper and open bar. The union bosses freaked when all us RA’s attended the meeting. They saw us as students not staff and faculty and told us we were not welcome. I showed them the handbook and we all ate like kings that night. They later changed the rule that union members who were also full time students couldn’t attend the diners.
Also found out 1 seat in every class was reserved free for a union member on a first come basis. Every member could take 2 regular classes and 3 coned classes a semester.
Union accused me of gaming the system, i pointed out $60 per month from my honorarium waa a much larger % than the same 60 paid by a proff making 5k a month.
Got to love unions.
Chris · October 3, 2024 at 2:16 pm
He needs to be hung on the docks, for all of his boys to see.
nones · October 3, 2024 at 2:25 pm
I sure would like to see this guy crippled. I’d buy a ticket to watch that.
Paladin for Hire · October 3, 2024 at 5:54 pm
Pay how much for the ticket and how many tickets can you sell to watch?
Rick · October 3, 2024 at 2:25 pm
Based on how one of my grandfathers and several uncles were treated by labor unions, plus my own experience when I was forced to join the union if I wanted to work at that employer, I seriously ask if there is any appreciable difference between labor unions and the mafia.
My answer is there is no difference.
Every labor union should be RICO’d out of existence.
badfrog · October 3, 2024 at 3:07 pm
He needs to join JImmy Hoffa.
Gryphon · October 3, 2024 at 3:44 pm
While it’s easy to Criticize a Crane or Forklift Operator for wanting $250K for a “Relatively Simple Job”, nobody has pointed out that since the ‘Containerization’ of Freight, tens of Thousands fewer Workers are needed to move it. When Freight moved in much smaller Crates and Boxes, particularly in Ships, the Time to Load/Unload a Ship could take a Week, and involve Hundreds of Longshoremen doing a lot of just Hand Labor. Now, a Handful of Men can Unload/Load an Aircraft-Carrier sized Vessel in a Day or so. Fewer Dockworkers than any Time in History are moving More Cargo than Ever.
What this means is, the Productivity of those Workers is Thousands of Time greater than before, and for them to Deserve much higher Compensation is entirely Justified. But because (((corporations))) must squeeze every $hekel from their Workers, the Workers need to be Insistent on getting Wages commensurate with the value that they provide.
p.s I’m not a ‘union member’, never have been.
Skeptic · October 3, 2024 at 4:37 pm
Where do you get that $70 per hour stat? Not arguing with your main premise, but from what I found, the contract they are under calls for wages from between $22 and $39 per hour.