Staff Reports
In a bold move reminiscent of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, President Joe Biden has intervened in the dockworkers’ strike, and—you guessed it—someone’s walking away with a big paycheck. The U.S. Maritime Alliance, representing the shipping companies, crumpled like a cheap suit under the White House’s pressure to give union dockworkers what they wanted. Now, the dockworkers are strutting back to work under the old contract while negotiating the finer details until January 15. Because why not keep the country on its toes?
It’s worth noting that Biden’s approach to the strike was more like a referee with a personal bias. Instead of putting on the brakes to avoid a full-blown shutdown of the economy, he opted to let the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) flex its muscles. Their demand for a whopping 77% wage increase is about as realistic as expecting a cat to swim laps. After some back-and-forth, the companies coughed up a 62% increase thanks to a late-night Zoom call facilitated by the Biden administration, proving once again that sleep is for the weak—at least in the White House.
Biden Forces Settlement in Dockworkers Strike. Guess Who Came Out the Big Winner? https://t.co/0Yc2U6ULyh pic.twitter.com/cGgnuXjoxX
— AntiCorporatism.com (@CorporateState) October 4, 2024
The union’s head honcho, Harold Daggett, insists that these workers deserve their “fair share” of the profits raked in by the shipping companies. A cursory glance at economic realities, however, shows this isn’t exactly a fair fight. Just 25,000 of the union’s 50,000 members hold actual jobs, while the rest draw container royalties designed to shield them from the inevitable march of automation. Now, they’re demanding a freeze on automation—an interesting tactic when facing the reality of technological advancement.
The ILA’s monopoly on East and Gulf Coast port negotiations makes them about as effective as a gatekeeper at a vegan festival. A 2019-2020 report from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor pointedly remarked on the ILA’s long-standing grip, highlighting not just a lack of diversity but a culture steeped in criminality and corruption. Who needs integrity when there are yacht payments to be made? Daggett’s annual salary of $900,000 is certainly buoyed by the mismanagement of dock operations, leaving American businesses to foot the growing bill.
With their determination to keep modern practices at bay, the ILA is set to hold the economy hostage, yet again. As the predilection for extortion becomes clear, average Americans—especially small business owners—will likely feel the sting of rising shipping costs. This whole saga illustrates a critical lesson: give unions a monopoly, and it’s game over for consumer prices as they hold businesses in a chokehold. In a world where logistics should be seamless, the ILA’s antics will likely drag America’s ports even further behind global competitors. Good luck keeping your costs down, folks!
