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Unionized dock workers threaten to strike at 15 ports [Obama's Supporters]
khou.com ^ | 12/27/12

Posted on 12/28/2012 5:47:00 AM PST by SoFloFreeper

In just a few days, a walkout by thousands of dock workers could bring commerce to a near standstill at every major port from Boston to Houston, potentially delivering a big blow to retailers and manufacturers still struggling to find their footing in a weak economy.

More than 14,000 longshoremen are threatening to go on strike Sunday -a wide-ranging work stoppage that would immediately close cargo ports on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico to container ships.

The 15 ports involved in the labor dispute move more than 100 million tons of goods each year, or about 40 percent of the nation's containerized cargo traffic. Losing them to a shutdown, even for a few days, could cost the economy billions of dollars.

"If the port shuts down, nothing moves in or out," said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. And when the workers do return, "it's going to take time to clear out that backlog, and we don't know how long that it's going to take."

(Excerpt) Read more at khou.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: jobs; unions
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Fire them.
1 posted on 12/28/2012 5:47:11 AM PST by SoFloFreeper
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To: SoFloFreeper
The Communists are getting ready for the Revolution.

So are we.

2 posted on 12/28/2012 5:48:25 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum ("Democracy is indispensable to socialism. The goal of socialism is communism." --Vladimir Lenin)
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To: SoFloFreeper

Unions! Putting greed ahead of America!


3 posted on 12/28/2012 5:48:55 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer (U.S. elections have become nothing but another cheap ripoff of American Idol.)
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To: SoFloFreeper

Obama will crush the unions!


4 posted on 12/28/2012 5:50:34 AM PST by umgud (No Rats, No Rino's)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

All unions are going to press for wage increases. The push is necessary to induce the wage inflation necessary to push the general inflation.

The inflation is the agreed on but not mentioned method for devaluing the debt


5 posted on 12/28/2012 5:53:03 AM PST by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 .....The fairest Deduction to be reduced is the Standard Deduction)
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To: SoFloFreeper

Why would the west coast dock workers not join in with their brothers ?


6 posted on 12/28/2012 5:53:32 AM PST by sawmill trash (Just clinging)
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To: sawmill trash

Good.

Bring back jobs, to America.

Just saying...


7 posted on 12/28/2012 5:55:00 AM PST by Cringing Negativism Network
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To: SoFloFreeper

“Fire them.”

Agreed!


8 posted on 12/28/2012 5:56:53 AM PST by blueyon (The U. S. Constitution - read it and weep)
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To: SoFloFreeper
The union said its members would agree to an extension only if the Maritime Alliance dropped a proposal to freeze the royalties workers get for every container they unload. The Alliance has argued that the longshoremen, who it said earn an average $124,138 per year in wages and benefits, are compensated well enough already.

...(from an insider)..the bonuses (royalties) range from $20,000 to $40,000.....here's where it gets interesting, each member is allowed to contribute up to $3,000 per year to a political party. Many union members also register their 3 or 4 year old sons and daughters as union members....two kids, another $6,000 goes to a political party. One family donates $9,000, so now it's important for Odungo to settle this....just another rat slush fund....so they take half of your so-called bonus, when you make 120,000 to 200,000 per year who wants to stir the s*** pot?...or go home with broken legs, if you make it that far. DOJ Holder should do something about this scam..???????..*smacking head**....sorry, I was thinking like an American

9 posted on 12/28/2012 6:06:19 AM PST by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: SoFloFreeper

Unions: Just another arm of the CPUSA like the MSM, Public Schools, Lawyers (vast majority), ACLU, Hollywood...

We have lost the war to the communists but, thanks to the groups listed above, most are unaware of that fact.

If anyone thinks the GOP will be the savior they are as delusional as anyone in the aforementioned groups.

If we were to look at most government agencies we would find more similarities to the former USSR than to the brilliance of the Founders. As we are about to be pushed over the Obama Gun Cliff, it is highly unlikely we can do anything about it.


10 posted on 12/28/2012 6:09:03 AM PST by Wurlitzer (Nothing says "ignorance" like Islam!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

This isn’t the Revolution quite yet, just a warm-up. They haven’t seized the guns yet.


11 posted on 12/28/2012 6:10:28 AM PST by mykroar (BAD-ANON: One Game At A Time)
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To: SoFloFreeper

Bring on the replacements. Even if they don’t strike.


12 posted on 12/28/2012 6:17:53 AM PST by showme_the_Glory (ILLEGAL: prohibited by law. ALIEN: Owing political allegiance to another country or government)
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To: SoFloFreeper

they are lucky to have a job in this economy, go ahead and strike losers, plenty will take your job and be thrilled with it.


13 posted on 12/28/2012 6:27:18 AM PST by yldstrk (My heroes have always been cowboys)
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To: Doogle
....here's where it gets interesting, each member is allowed to contribute up to $3,000 per year to a political party. Many union members also register their 3 or 4 year old sons and daughters as union members....two kids, another $6,000 goes to a political party.

That's a triple dip for the Democrat slush fund. Also, I wonder if the kiddie registration gives them a leg up on future membership, making the union a hereditary political caste.

14 posted on 12/28/2012 6:40:12 AM PST by Pearls Before Swine
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To: umgud

I don’t think so. Obama owes the unions bigtime.
This is the opening salvo on their full-court press
to organize the entire country. Obama is going to
give them Card Check or something darned close to it.
It’s the price he has to pay for their GOTV army in
November.


15 posted on 12/28/2012 6:42:11 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Buckeye McFrog

I wonder if this is an opportune chance to break these unions once and for all.

This could be a pension fund too far for union bosses.


16 posted on 12/28/2012 6:51:27 AM PST by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: Buckeye McFrog

I forgot the /sarc tag.


17 posted on 12/28/2012 6:56:42 AM PST by umgud (No Rats, No Rino's)
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To: Pearls Before Swine
the kiddie registration gives them a leg up

of course, with Trumpka running things, this was suppose to be settled in September, but Odungo pushed it back on the next President (after the election)...so now he has to extend the current contract or strike....which ever is worst for the country.

18 posted on 12/28/2012 7:07:35 AM PST by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: SoFloFreeper

I hope the government don’t pay these strikers unemployment.


19 posted on 12/28/2012 8:59:58 AM PST by vetvetdoug
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To: SoFloFreeper

I think the Maritime Alliance should agree to continue the “royalty for each container unloaded”, if the workers agree for it to be in lieu of an equivalent reduction in their compensation somewhere else.

Usually when incentive-pay, like commissions, is part of workers compensation it is the primary component of that compensation, not a smaller add-on. It is usually done that way so that it actually acts as an incentive for greater productivity - low base pay but good commissions; rewarding performance over merely punching the time clock.

When regular, non-incentive-based, compensation is already substantial - 100Kplus/year, it is doubtful the small royalty compensation for each unloaded container actually acts as an incentive for greater productivity, but it does automatically, even without greater productivity, raise compensation costs.

Whatever the formula, if the workers want to keep the royalty, the cost for it ought to come out of their compensation somewhere else, or it’s likely to not be any incentive for greater productivity - just an added cost for the dock owners/operators.


20 posted on 12/28/2012 10:50:09 AM PST by Wuli
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