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Do you think part of the reason the longshore industry managed to keep a really strong union was just the geographic concentration? When you only have a few ma
by paultopia 9y ago
Do you think part of the reason the longshore industry managed to keep a really strong union was just the geographic concentration? When you only have a few major container ports, it's gotta be pretty easy to keep union solidarity...
- hangonhn 9y agoYes! Actually, a lot of the older port cities were eventually bypassed because of this. For example, SF and NYC are no longer ports for shipping because rather than deal with the unions and their power, new ports such as Oakland and Newark (think that's the city in NJ) with facilities for containers were simply built close by.
- wahern 9y agoIf I remember The Box properly, West Coast unions faired better than East Coast unions. The East Coast unions fought container shipping tooth and nail, and when the Newark port and other East Coast ports were built they lost alot of clout and many more union jobs than necessary. Simultaneously, the leadership of the West Coast unions saw the writing on the wall and were able to achieve a less disruptive shift and downsizing. And this happened despite the fact that the West Coast unions had, historically, a more contentious relationship with business owners.