Posts tagged Gulf Coast Ports
Port strike longshoremen union boss linked to murdered mobster in ‘farce’ racketeering case he beat at trial
October 8, 2024 // George Daggett, the attorney, said the case began after his cousin asked a Catholic priest for financial advice and had $18 million in union funds placed under the supervision of the same money manager who worked with Our Lady of the Lake Church in Sparta, New Jersey. "So at the trial, every time a mobster’s name was mentioned, the government had a big board, and they made a circle, [and] every time a mobster was mentioned, they put his picture up on this big board," he said. "The government’s case ended, and I took Father Cassidy’s picture and I put it in the middle of all those mobsters. So that's the kind of trial it was."
How did 50K dockworkers strike at US ports with only 25K jobs?
October 7, 2024 // There’s a massive gulf in the numbers between those who show up for work and total membership in the powerful International Longshoremen’s Association, which won a deal late Thursday for a 62% wage increase over the next six years. That’s because half of the dockworkers at the East and Gulf coast ports are allowed to sit at home collecting “container royalties” negotiated decades ago to protect against job losses that result from innovation, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Commentary: Labor unions are mobilizing in new and old industries alike
October 6, 2024 // How job security issues are addressed following this wave of strikes could set the tone for what other hospitality, manufacturing and transportation unions seek when their contracts are up for negotiation again.The Conversation
Dockworkers strike suspended, tentative agreement includes 62% pay raise over 6 years
October 4, 2024 // The tentative agreement would increase workers’ wages by 62% over the life of the 6-year contract, sources familiar confirm to ABC News. This represents a significant increase from the shipping industry group’s offer of a 50% wage increase earlier this week. The union had been pushing for a 77% pay hike over six years.
Op-Ed: Biden’s Longshoreman Strike
October 3, 2024 // American ports are less efficient than most in the world owing to union work rules and restrictions on automation.
Port strike threatens another supply chain crisis: CEI analysis
October 3, 2024 // The ILA wants no automation of any kind at the ports. The union’s opposition to any change is a major reason why US ports lag far behind in efficiency compared to those of other countries, according to World Bank rankings. Should the union get what it wants, US consumers will suffer the effects of an outdated, inefficient supply chain for years to come.
Some dockworkers earn more than $400,000 a year
October 3, 2024 // More than half of 3,726 dockworkers at the Port of New York and New Jersey earned more than $150,000 in the fiscal year that ended in 2020, according to the port's regulator, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. About one in five dockworkers at the port earned more than $250,000 that year. Eighteen dockworkers brought in more than $450,000 that year – more than the annual salary as the U.S. President ($400,000) and more than most U.S. workers. The real median household income for all Americans was $74,580 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Some dockworkers get paid even if they don't work.
Harold Daggett: How union leader who fought mob tie allegations is holding the US economy to ransom
October 2, 2024 // Despite his eminent blue collar credentials, the union baron earned $728,000 last year from the ILA, plus another $173,000 as president emeritus of a local union branch, Politico reported. He previously owned a 76-foot yacht, the Obsession, and has been spotted by his members riding in a Bentley, according to The New York Times. The Justice Department, which has reportedly lost two cases against Mr Daggett, has accused him of being an “associate” of the Genovese crime family — one of the infamous “Five Families” of the US Mafia.
Biden Backs ILA Strikers Warning Shippers on Price Spikes
October 2, 2024 // “Now is not the time for ocean carriers to refuse to negotiate a fair wage for these essential workers while raking in record profits,” Biden said in a statement from the White House. “My administration will be monitoring any price gouging activity that benefits foreign ocean carriers, including those on the USMX board.”
The long-haul harms of an East Coast port strike and automation ban
October 1, 2024 // But the problem with banning automation is that just as automated tollways enable cars and trucks to move more efficiently across the roadways, automated gates and other port operations enable goods to move more efficiently into, out of, and throughout the U.S. The lack of automation is a primary reason that U.S. ports rank near the bottom of global port efficiency ratings. According to the World Bank’s 2022 Port Performance Index, the average North American port ranking is three times lower than East Asian ports, almost twice as bad as Central American, South American, and Caribbean ports, and not far ahead of sub-Saharan African ports. One of the most efficient ports in the U.S., ranked No. 44 out of 348, is Virginia Beach. It’s likely not a coincidence that the Virginia Beach port is one of the only ones that includes some automation, which Daggett said the ILA was forced to inherit. The Mobile port ranks No. 238, and five other East Coast ports rank No. 300 or worse, with Savannah, Georgia’s port ranked dead last in the world.