Dockworker Strike Looms
Author: Greg Valliere
December 13, 2024
DONALD TRUMP COULD FACE a major crisis early next year — a dockworkers’ strike, narrowly avoided in October, looms on Jan. 15, just days before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
IN ADDITION TO THE POSSIBLE ECONOMIC IMPACT — some analysts predict a strike could cost the economy $1 billion a day — this could bring into sharp focus a major problem for Trump: many of his proposals could intensify inflation.
TRUMP MET THIS WEEK with officials from the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), and he issued a statement that highlighted the conflicts posed by the issue of automation.
“There has been a lot of discussion having to do with ‘automation’ on United States docks.” Trump said. “I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our Longshoremen,” Trump said.
THE UNION, which represents more than 40,000 dockworkers, went on strike for three days in October over automation, as many wondered if robots would replace them. The ILA’s old contract included a provision requiring the union’s permission for ports to add any automation. The union insisted on airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation.
THE STRIKE WAS SUSPENDED, however, when the Biden administration helped reach a deal that extends the contract to Jan. 15.
WITH JOE BIDEN PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON PARDONS, Trump faces a full plate during the holidays. In addition to a potential strike, Trump’s biggest immediate challenge may be a threatened government shutdown in the next week.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS will need votes from Democrats — as usual — to keep the government open just before Christmas. A continuing resolution may extend the deadline until March 14; Democrats insist they won’t pass another CR then.
AS USUAL, DECEMBER is chaotic in Washington; this year will have the added issue of hearings next week for Cabinet positions, as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard face uphill fights.
AND THEN THERE’S THE MOST PERPLEXING ISSUE of all — who’s sending dozens of drones every night to the Northeast U.S., and why can’t anyone in Washington figure this out?
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