I have outlined my general opinion about labor unions [HERE].  Now we are going to focus on the realities, politics and economic outcomes from an International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike.

I mostly support the strike. I even mostly support ILA President Harold Daggett, a man of notoriously intemperate and sketchy disposition.  Daggett grew up in Queens, New York, directly at the same time and place as another wildly attacked industrialist turned titan of politics.  It is safe to say, they know each other; but I’ll get to that later.

Let’s turn to the issues that matter.  The dockworker strike has the potential to have major ramifications against the U.S. economy.  If the docks don’t work, the imports and exports don’t happen.  This could be a big mess, a really big mess if it goes on for a long time.

“People never gave a sh!t about us until now, when they finally realize that the chain is being broke now. Cars won’t come in, food won’t come in, clothing won’t come in.”

This union leader makes $900,000 per year. Maybe not the best spokesperson.

pic.twitter.com/b6sOXVsxJh

— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) October 1, 2024

U.S. MEDIA – The US port workers launched the strike due to a labor dispute with employers’ group United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), after their six-year contract expired.

For their new contract, ILA wants USMX to increase wages by 77 percent over six years and bar any automation, which they believe threatens workers’ jobs.

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On one side you have the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA), which represents 50,000 East and Gulf Coast dockworkers.  On the other side you have the U.S. Maritime Alliance, or USMX, an organization bargaining on behalf of the port owners, container owners and corporations.  In a few hours the ILA is scheduled to strike against USMX.

A late breaking development:

[SOURCE] – [pdf Specifics]

I am not sure how this is going to eventually end but suffice to say at least a one-week strike is built into the current dynamic.  I doubt any last-minute negotiations will stop that from happening, but you never know.

Below is a video reflecting the firm position expressed by ILA President Harold J. Daggett, who represents the interests of the workers.  There are many who may not like the tone or expressed strike intent of Mr Daggett; however, given the nature of modern corporatism as it stands, what workers have been doing hasn’t been working to change the dynamic.

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First, my perspective for new readers.  I generally support private sector labor unions. I did not always support them.  I do not support public sector unions, nor the leadership of most labor unions in general who politicize their activity.  In our modern era, the baseline for organized labor to support the interests of their blue-collar workforce is valid.

Against the backdrop of the larger geopolitical dynamic, I would make the case that, similar to the solidarity movement of the mid 1980’s, organizing the general workforce is going to be the last-resort backstop measure to block ideological western government and corporate intentions.

Populism, nationalism and MAGA specifically, needs a unity alliance with organized private sector labor.

I also believe President Trump sees the looming importance of this relationship as made visible by his support for the Teamsters union during the RNC convention.

Consider what we witnessed and endured with the forced worker vaccination programs of 2021.  I do not like the idea of politicized labor but contemplate how organized labor could have been used to pushback against the diminishment of liberty. There is a potential for value; thus, I evaluate organized apolitical labor as a potential pragmatic ally.

That said, let us discuss the looming strike by The International Longshoreman’s Association, which represents 50,000 East and Gulf Coast dockworkers.

There are a lot of economic impacts that can be created by a dockworker strike; they range from inconvenient to severe depending on the industry and sector therein.  With the U.S. manufacturing base diminished, imported goods now represent the system to deliver essential products into our nation.

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Jumpin’ ju-ju bones, I think we may have found Wilbur Ross’s replacement.  In this segment on CNBC Trump transition team leader Howard Lutnick, explains simple MAGAnomics to the panel.  Make this guy both Commerce Secretary and Chairman of the National Economic Council in 2025!

Starting with an explanation of his role within the Trump 2025 transition team, Lutnick then walks through the MAGAnomic principles enmeshed in President Trump’s economic policies.  Mr. Lutnick begins the policy part by outlining how energy restrictions are driving inflation through higher costs of goods. Yes. Yes and Yes.

Then Lutnick shifts to talking about tariffs and is one of the only advisors outside the 2017 team (Robert Lighthizer, Wilbur Ross) who factually references ending the insufferable “Marshal Plan.”  Again, yes, yes and YES.

Howard Lutnick gets it. The essential core of MAGAnomics.  Drive down the cost of goods through expanded energy development, then leverage reciprocity in tariffs to end the exfiltration of wealth.  Then cut out regulation and unleash American enterprise. This is the way to reverse this insufferable economic trajectory that creates a “service driven economy.”   The entire interview is well worth watching:

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A bonus video below.

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Perhaps it’s just because the election is only a few months away, or perhaps it’s because President Trump’s trade and economic policies toward China were always the right approach for the USA.  Whatever the reasoning, the Biden administration is now proposing to use tariffs against China just like President Trump.

There’s a hidden dimension to the Chinese EV angle that makes this claim a little dubious, I will explain after the topline big story.

Overall, the New York Times is reporting [SEE HERE] that Joe Biden and USTR Katherine Tai are likely to trigger massive tariffs against imported Electric Vehicles (EVs) from China, perhaps as much as 100% due to the low cost of Chinese production.  Additionally, the Biden administration is considering increasing the tariff regime against imports of Chinese steel and aluminum in a bid to protect the American industry.

On the EV issue, this tariff approach is politically duplicitous by Biden against the backdrop of massive investment in Mexico by the three largest Chinese EV automakers. Last December the three Chinese auto manufacturers, MG, BYD, and Chery, announced they were going to spend billions building new EV manufacturing plants in Mexico.  Each Chinese auto manufacturer was going to spend between $1.5 to $2.0 billion.

Those Mexican built Chinese EV’s would pass into the USA market under current USMCA trade rules and regulations, as long as they technically meet the material origination rules.  This can make tariffs against the Chinese imported EVs a moot point, because China will be making them in Mexico (North American trade agreement).

One of the reasons President Trump said the U.S. auto industry would suffer a “bloodbath,” is specifically because the current Chinese auto companies are targeting these EV’s in the $10,000 or less range.  If you want to see what it looks like when cheap Chinese EV’s start to flood a consumer market, visit Russia – the western sanctions have only increased this flow.  I can see it clear as day.

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The NTSB gives an update on the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, following the impact of a Singaporean-flagged cargo ship, the Dali.

According to the update, 56 containers of hazardous materials were on board, including corrosive flammable cells, lithium ion batteries, and other hazardous materials.  Some of the HAZMAT containers were compromised and some fell into the water.  The briefing also gives a preliminary outline as an outcome of an initial review of the voyage data recorder (VDR) for six hours 00:00 to 06:00 on the morning of the impact. The timeline discussion occurs at 11:00 of the video below.  WATCH:

(Via Fox News) -[…] Homendy said the investigation would be a “massive undertaking” that is expected two take one to two years. She added that the NTSB will not hesitate to issue urgent safety recommendations during that time frame. A preliminary report is expected in only two to four weeks.

Part of the investigation will be determining what caused the ship to lose power before hitting the bridge. The source of that outage remained unknown as of Wednesday, Homendy said.

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Dramatic footage shows the Francis Scott Key bridge in the Port of Baltimore being hit by a containership that plowed directly into a bridge support. The span is part of I-695 and goes over some of the waterway leading into the Port of Baltimore. The port, officially known as the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, handles trucks, tractors, trailers and container offloading.

Thankfully the incident happened at 01:30am and traffic across the bridge was light.

(Via MSM) – […] The Singapore-flagged 948 ft. Dali vessel crashed into a column supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge at around 1:30 a.m. local time in Baltimore, causing part of the bridge to collapse and catch fire before sinking.

At around 1:40 a.m., the Baltimore City Fire Department received an emergency services call to respond to a water rescue in the Patapsco River, according to fire chief Wallace. Several vehicles were on the bridge at the time of impact.

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We all know the routine. Water-saving toilets that don’t flush (flush twice), water/energy-saving dishwashers and clothes washers that don’t clean (run two cycles), lightbulbs that don’t light, dryers that don’t dry (run twice), and all the ancillary nonsense that comes from the intervention of the regulatory state.

What Biden and the progressive movement call the “green new deal” effort toward “sustainability,” including the ban on gas stoves and internal combustion engines, simply results in a diminished quality of life, a loss in lifestyle productivity, and the exact opposite outcome from their expressed/intended purpose.  It’s an abject mess of stupidity, pushed under the guise of environmentalism.

Today the Biden Dept of Energy (DOE) takes it one step further with rules and regulations on fridges, freezers and fans. {DOE LINK}

Residential Refrigerators and Freezers – The efficiency standards being adopted today for residential refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers, which have not been updated in over a decade, align with recommendations from a diverse set of stakeholders, including manufacturers, the manufacturing trade association, energy, environmental, and consumer advocacy groups, states, and utilities. Compliance will be required either January 31, 2029, or January 31, 2030, depending on the configuration of the refrigerator or freezer. The energy savings over 30 years of shipments is 5.6 quadrillion British thermal units, which represents a savings of 11% relative to the energy use of products currently on the market. DOE estimates that the standards would save consumers $36.4 billion over 30 years of shipments and result in cumulative emission reductions of nearly 101 million metric tons of carbon dioxide—an amount roughly equivalent to the combined annual emissions of 12.7 million homes. 

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This is somewhat of a predictably tragic outcome all things considered. I remember a previous conversation on these pages when GM moved massive investment into China to build their mid-size SUV brand, Encore.

Continuing the U.S. decline of the brand, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that approximately half of all Buick dealership in the U.S. have opted to take a buyout from GM, as opposed to spending millions in retooling, restructuring and retraining their staff to accommodate the EV influx.

Most of the EV’s shoved onto the dealer lots sit idle without customers to purchase them.

Wall Street Journal – General Motors (GM) has bought out about half of its 2,000 Buick dealers nationwide, based on their decision to not sell electric vehicles, according to a company spokesman Wednesday.

Dealers who are taking the buyout would give up the Buick franchise and no longer sell the brand, he said. The dealer can continue to sell other GM models, such as Chevrolet or GMC, that often account for a higher percentage of sales.

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Don’t pretend. The media are pitching this with full pretense.  Instead, look at the data carefully.  Tens of thousands of UAW members are on strike for better pay and benefits.   The installed occupant of the oval office makes a “historic” visit to the picket line.   About two dozen workers are there.  Think about it.

Look at the optics.  Do you think for one second that Team Obama would let their principal appear in such a smattering of support?  Not a chance.  This “crowd” might as well have had circles around their place to stand.  Joe Biden spent about an hour in Michigan before tripping back onto the plane and heading to meet Gavin Newsom in California.

Michigan – […] The move also appeared to be a clear counter to former President Donald Trump, who plans to visit Michigan on Wednesday instead of participating in the second Republican primary debate — the latest sign that both candidates have moved beyond the primary phase of the election and are focused on November 2024.

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