What do you call a wealthy union boss who will literally let his own nation starve in order to secure more money for his own wallet?
It's one thing to ask for a raise, but he's celebrating people across America losing their jobs!!
This man made more than a million dollars last year.
Oh, his son is loaded too!
I'm not here to debate the necessity/morality of unions or whether this strike is just or not (although I must say I chose the wrong career - why go to college when you can be a union boss??).
I'm just reporting the man's rhetoric and tone to you.
(Oh, I forgot his other son is rich off the union too)
The International Longshoreman Associations strike, which began Tuesday at midnight, will close roughly half the ports in the United States.
From the AP:
From Maine to Texas, dockworkers at 36 ports across the eastern U.S. are now on strike for the first time in decades. And the work stoppage could snarl supply chains — leading to shortages and higher prices if it stretches on for more than a few weeks.
This will immediately create supply chain issues and skyrocketing costs due to lack of supply for goods across the board (if you haven't noticed, we don't produce much in America anymore so we import almost everything).
In early picketing, workers outside the Port of Philadelphia walked in a circle and chanted 'No work without a fair contract.' The union, which is striking for the first time since 1977, had message boards on the side of a truck reading: 'Automation Hurts Families: ILA Stands For Job Protection.'
A lot of cottage businesses in little villages were put out of business when Edmund Cartwright patented the automatic loom in 1785. Though such technologies brought new problems (like child labor in factories), it also enabled, well, the modern world.
But that didn't stop two thousand Scotsman weavers from rioting in 1816. They tried to destroy looms and threw rocks at factory workers. I guess there's nothing new under the sun, eh?
Local ILA president Boise Butler said workers want a fair contract that doesn't allow automation of their jobs.
Shipping companies made billions during the pandemic by charging high prices, he said. 'Now we want them to pay back. They're going to pay back,' Butler said.
The ironic thing about this is that the dockworkers, which most of you probably don't think about ever, have just made the case for immediate automation through their strike.
What was that about Icarus and reaching the sun??
The dockworkers may very well be right: They might need a pay raise to survive the tidal wave of inflation, because the government and their media pals have lied to you for the last 4 years about how bad the economy really is.
But when everyone demands a pay raise, businesses have to pass the costs onto consumers. If ports and shipping companies have to pay 77% more to dockworkers, then that 77% will be passed onto every item that gets loaded onto the trucks that drive to your local Walmart.
At this point, there might only be two ways for us to actually compete in the world economy without raising costs beyond what the average American can afford:
Eliminate red tape to allow Americans to innovate and automate while investing in American jobs that don't give enemies like China money and aren't beholden to global shipping hazards and union demands.
Phase out factory/dock/trucker unions with millions upon millions of low-cost migrant workers who won't demand nearly as much, in part because you'll deport them if they do.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, sums up the 2024 election!
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