{"id":2353033,"date":"2024-10-10T08:02:57","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T12:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-harris-dodged-catastrophic-dock-worker-strike-by-accident\/"},"modified":"2024-10-10T08:05:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T12:05:06","slug":"biden-harris-dodged-catastrophic-dock-worker-strike-by-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-harris-dodged-catastrophic-dock-worker-strike-by-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden-Harris Dodged Catastrophic Dock Worker Strike By Accident"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-harris-dodged-catastrophic-dock-worker-strike-by-accident%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2353033&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Last week, the United States narrowly\u200d avoided a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nj-environmental-agency-destroyed-protected-animal-habitat-to-create-another-one-now-it-has-to-fine-itself\/\" title=\"NJ Environmental Agency Destroyed Protected Animal Habitat To Create Another One. Now It Has To Fine Itself.\">significant economic crisis<\/a> when the International Longshoremen&#8217;s Association (ILA) abruptly ended a strike that could have led \u2064to widespread consumer shortages. The strike was in response to \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ford-halts-work-on-chinese-backed-ev-battery-plant-amid-union-strike\/\" title=\"Ford stops Chinese-backed EV battery plant due to union strike.\">ongoing contract negotiations<\/a> with\u2062 the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which had proposed\u2064 a nearly 50% wage increase. The ILA\u200b sought even greater increases and protections against automation, leading\u200d them to strike.<\/p>\n<p>Amid these \u200ctensions, President Biden faced limited options, \u2063including either allowing the strike to continue, invoking the \u2064Taft-Hartley Act to force negotiations, or compelling USMX to meet ILA&#8217;s demands. However, he opted to remain passive, risking economic fallout.<\/p>\n<p>In an unexpected turn, \u2062Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took decisive action by deploying \u2062the National Guard to the state\u2019s ports, highlighting the urgent need to maintain economic stability and assist Hurricane Helene victims. This intervention led to the ILA concluding the \u2062strike after securing \u200ba 62% pay \u2063increase, while they \u200binitially sought 77%.<\/p>\n<p>The article \u200dsuggests that this incident highlights contrasting leadership\u200c styles, with DeSantis being praised for his proactive approach,\u2062 while Biden is criticized for his inaction.\u2064 It also points out that inflation has contributed to the \u200dworkers&#8217; discontent, urging the ILA members to\u2062 reconsider\u200c their bargaining\u2062 strategies to avoid self-sabotage. the resolution of the strike may serve as a lesson for future negotiations and voter decisions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Most Americans might not realize it, but the country just avoided a massive crisis last week, with the relatively quick and painless <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instapaper.com\/read\/1714610847\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">end<\/a> to the International Longshoremen&rsquo;s Association (ILA) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/10\/01\/dockworkers-are-striking-what-does-that-mean-00181910\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">strike<\/a>, thanks in large part to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Had the strike continued, American consumers would have seen shortages everywhere, and the economy would have been ruined.<\/p>\n<p>The reasons for the strike were nothing unusual. The ILA was in talks with its employer, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), for a new six-year contract. And even though the USMX <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/us-east-coast-dockworkers-head-toward-strike-after-deal-deadline-passes-2024-10-01\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extended<\/a> an &ldquo;offer of a nearly 50% wage increase&rdquo; to its employees, this was not enough, and the ILA staged a strike in order to win an even bigger increase and guaranteed protections against automation.<\/p>\n<p>Because the ILA had so much leverage in the negotiation, the Biden administration and the USMX were stuck with a few options, none of them good. They could stay out of the talks and simply try to encourage the USMX to meet the extravagant demands of the strikers, which Biden&rsquo;s spokespeople <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/us-east-coast-dockworkers-head-toward-strike-after-deal-deadline-passes-2024-10-01\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tried<\/a>, but with little success.<\/p>\n<p>Or the Biden administration could have invoked the Taft-Hartley Act to temporarily halt the strike and force both parties back to negotiations. Nevertheless, Biden dismissed this idea, knowing that the optics of forcing union workers back to the docks would <a href=\"https:\/\/unherd.com\/newsroom\/dockworkers-strike-is-splitting-the-democratic-coalition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">upset<\/a> an important part of his coalition.<\/p>\n<p>Or the Biden administration could actively force the USMX to cave to the demands. Considering the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/striking-dockworkers-are-top-earnerswhen-they-work-17c5f7e9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">high salaries<\/a> that the longshoremen already enjoyed and the fact that they were obviously exploiting their unjustified stranglehold on the American economy, giving them everything they asked for would also be bad optics by showing weakness and potentially setting up an unsustainable situation that would make the cost of using the ports prohibitively expensive.<\/p>\n<p>Then there was what actually transpired. Out of nowhere, Gov. Ron DeSantis <a href=\"https:\/\/catholicvote.org\/dockworkers-suspend-strike-after-desantis-national-guard\/?mkt_tok=NDI3LUxFUS0wNjYAAAGV9dcqzF-hQznr2LT1YQFRBzGBHuWsBPVTC19p3j6yqz0it7HR5-PG3C346OddzNQz38YLbV0r2Y3yhBmCt-jnYs1vIyypVMfvBb15LjZb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">took action and deployed<\/a> the National Guard to the ports in Florida. Unlike the president and his surrogates, DeSantis has a state to run &mdash; one that has been devastated by one of the worst hurricanes in modern history &mdash; and doesn&rsquo;t have time to play games with ILA. <\/p>\n<p>He made this point clear in his statement on this decision: &ldquo;Unlike the federal government, Florida is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/free-beacon-staff-to-editors-arm-the-nathan-robinson-regime-to-prevent-communist-takeover-of-current-affairs\/\" title=\"Free Beacon Staff to Editors: Arm the Nathan Robinson Regime To Prevent Communist Takeover of \u2018Current Affairs\u2019\">taking decisive action<\/a> to ensure that our economy continues to function and that victims of Hurricane Helene will have access to what they need to rebuild.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hours later, the ILA inexplicably ended its strike, settling for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/business\/port-strike-ends-as-union-reaches-tentative-agreement-5734967\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">62 percent pay increase<\/a> after demanding 77 percent and agreeing to revisit the matter in January to iron out all the details.<\/p>\n<p>While the strike has been quickly resolved, there is reason to think this type of problem will happen again. Therefore, it would benefit everyone to learn a few lessons before making a choice at the ballot box this coming month.<\/p>\n<p>First, Ron DeSantis proved once again why he is America&rsquo;s best governor. If he hadn&rsquo;t taken the measures that he did, the strike would have lasted far longer, costing the country over half a billion dollars a day. More importantly, it would have critically hindered efforts to rescue and aid the countless victims of Hurricane Helene.<\/p>\n<p>Second, Biden proved once again why he is one of America&rsquo;s worst presidents. He took no action when the strike began and was ready to let it continue. Yes, it would have devastated the economy, but he knows that the corporate media would cover for him as they have with everything else.<\/p>\n<p>More fundamentally, the Biden-Harris administration is responsible for creating the conditions for the strike in the first place. As columnist Jeffrey Tucker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/why-are-dock-workers-striking-5733938\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently noted<\/a>, so much of it had to do with inflation: &ldquo;Inflation [created the conditions for the strike] because falling purchasing power has the most dramatic impact on wage workers while hitting the well-to-do in much less impactful ways. As a result, these dock workers are looking at their bills, the price of groceries, the rise of rents and insurance payments, and then note how well off management is doing, and finally something snaps.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This leads to the final point: In many ways, the ILA workers have no one to blame for their problems but themselves. Their demands are pricing themselves out of their own industry, essentially begging employers to replace them with robots and foreign workers. <\/p>\n<p>Pro-labor writers like Sohrab Ahmari may <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/longshoremen-strike-dockworkers-daggett-labor-union\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">celebrate the union<\/a> for playing hardball, but this kind of behavior easily becomes counterproductive and destructive. Workers should be rewarded (and usually are) for becoming more productive and more skilled, not because they can shut down production and crash the business.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, unions like the ILA are the ones voting for Democrats and donating to their campaigns. In return, Democrats have opened the border and printed trillions more dollars, ushering in cheap labor to replace union workers and setting off higher prices that make them poorer. Fortunately, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/trump-harris-unions-teamsters-endorsement-1956277\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">some union workers<\/a> are coming to the realization that voting for Trump is ultimately better since he promises to close the border, deport illegal immigrants, and bring down inflation.<\/p>\n<p>However, too many other union workers will continue voting for Democrats like Kamala Harris who abandoned them long ago in favor of global elites who aggressively oppose private unions and collective action. They may be able to strike and negotiate better deals at the moment, but that leverage is quickly dissolving and will be completely gone if Democrats win another four years. And there won&rsquo;t be a Ron DeSantis to save them next time.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Auguste Meyrat is an English teacher in the Dallas area. He holds an MA in humanities and an MEd in educational leadership. He is the senior editor of <a>The Everyman<\/a>  , a senior contributor to The Federalist, and has written for essays for The American Mind, The American Conservative, Religion and Liberty, Crisis Magazine, and elsewhere. Follow him on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MeyratAuguste\">X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. narrowly avoided a crisis with the ILA strike&#8217;s quick end, largely due to Gov. DeSantis&#8217; actions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":551,"featured_media":2353034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-08-at-5.44.38%E2%80%AFPM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[22792,42700,36475,35078],"class_list":["post-2353033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-biden-harris","tag-dock-worker-strike","tag-labor-relations","tag-political-events"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-08-at-5.44.38%E2%80%AFPM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/551"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2353033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2353034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2353033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2353033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2353033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}