Commie Loving Union

[LogikAndReazon]

At the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press conference last week, spokesperson Liu Weimin’s revealed that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was awarded ”the Best Friend of American Worker” by the US International Longshoremen’s Association. The Chinese ambassador to the United States reportedly received the award on his behalf. Liu explained:

The International Longshoremen’s Association, an AFL-CIO affiliate, has not publicized the award. It is not mentioned on the ILA website, nor has it been reported in the American main-stream press. The Longshoremen did not return a request for comment....

With Friends Like These … | Washington Free Beacon

 

[waltky]

Looming strike at docks would cripple key U.S. ports, hurt economy...

Possible strike at docks would cripple key U.S. ports, hurt economy
December 27`12 - Thousands of dockworkers from Baltimore to Houston are threatening to go on strike Sunday over their pay, a move that could throttle an array of key ports and disrupt commerce at a critical juncture for the economy.

Nearly half of the nation’s ocean-bound container traffic runs through the 14 threatened ports on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, and a work stoppage would crimp imports of household goods, clothing and frozen foods, among other items. The biggest hub, in the New York area, handled $208 billion worth of goods last year. A widespread strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association, the first in decades, could put the White House in a bind. Scores of businesses have urged President Obama to do whatever it takes to prevent the ports from closing — including using emergency powers under a 1947 law to intervene. But such action by the president could alienate union allies. “For organized labor, that tends to be the nuclear option,” said Harley Shaiken, a labor expert at University of California at Berkeley. “That would not be received well at all.”

This weekend’s deadline over the dockworkers’ contract has hardly garnered the same attention as the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and federal spending cuts that are set to take effect next week and would threaten the economy’s fragile recovery. But some analysts say a prolonged shutdown of shipping ports might be just as damaging to companies. “This is truly a ‘container cliff’ in the making,” warned Jonathan Gold, the National Retail Federation’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy. For months, negotiations have dragged on between the dockworkers union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents shippers and port operators. The fight has focused on how to divvy up container royalties, which have long been used to augment worker wages and benefits. The alliance wants to freeze the royalties at current levels, saying that the longshoremen are well compensated, receiving an average of $124,000 a year. The dockworkers have rejected the proposal.

Estimates vary widely on how much damage a strike by the 14,500 workers would cause. Business groups have put the cost at $1 billion a day. But some academics say such numbers are inflated, noting that a work stoppage might not be as catastrophic now that the Christmas shopping season is over. Much of the cost depends on how long the strike lasts. But few question the influence of the dockworkers, who operate the cranes, hoists and winches that move the containers and therefore wield enormous control over the operations of the ports, which include Boston; New York-New Jersey; Charleston, S.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Miami; and Hampton Roads, Va.

The looming strike would not affect all cargo. Workers will still handle U.S. mail, military cargo, perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables, and “break bulk” goods such as cars, wood products and steel, according to a strike-preparations memo from the ILA. The effects of a work stoppage would be uneven. A strike would harm U.S. grain exporters, who are already reeling from low water levels on the Mississippi that are bogging down barge traffic.

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Report: US Ports Strike Averted in Labor Deal
December 28, 2012 - A union representing dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast has reached a labor agreement with shippers that will avert a strike that threatened to wreak havoc on the U.S. economy.

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), which represents 14,500 workers at 15 container ports in the eastern United States, and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) of shippers, terminal operators and port authorities, have agreed to extend their current contract by 30 days to finalize details, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service said on Friday.

Government mediators say union and management representatives had agreed to attend talks before the contract expired. Meanwhile, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is still working to resolve a separate dispute in the Pacific Northwest involving 3,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association.

These groups handle nearly half of U.S. wheat exports. Union members voted to reject a contract but may continue working while seeking further bargaining. These disagreements come just a few weeks after an eight-day strike by 450 clerks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. That hampered activities at the largest U.S. container port when thousands of union members refused to cross the clerks' picket lines.

http://www.voanews.com/content/reuters-us-labor-union-ports-deal-averts-strike/1574008.html