3 ms·

Very cool that management can get an anti-union piece in the mainstream media. The bulk of the article is about sowing division within the working class, and th

Very cool that management can get an anti-union piece in the mainstream media. The bulk of the article is about sowing division within the working class, and then there's some reasonable points by the union below the fold about how the reason the truckers are salty is in part because they are getting screwed by their management in a way that places them in opposition to the dockworkers by being paid per load instead of hourly.

thesausageking 7y ago
Or maybe using laws to prevent technology from making the port more efficient has downsides that affect not just management and shipping companies, but working class people as well.
- tehjoker 7y ago
  How would keeping things exactly the same hurt working class people? Making the port more efficient helps business and consumers, but not workers who are continuously ground into the dirt, commanded, and deprived of basic necessities. These workers have a decent job because they have banded together to challenge management through their union. Unfortunately, making things efficient on management's terms means that workers are fired rather than sharing in the fruits of a more efficient company. Only democratic ownership of the companies by the working class can change this equation. Then improved efficiency would be enacted on the workers' terms and would actually improve the lives of ordinary people.
maximente 7y ago
sad to see this grey. there's a clear angle on all sorts of issues, to include class and immigration status: > On one side are well-paid union members, many of them third- and fourth-generation dockworkers. On the other is a nonunion, largely immigrant and Spanish-speaking workforce of independent contractors, who lack the hourly pay, overtime guarantees, pensions, healthcare insurance and job security that ILWU workers enjoy. geez, it's almost as if there's a racial and cultural divide at play here... The Bearded One would be sad, i think. if what i keep reading about trucking being the most popular job in many states per capita, then these workers don't understand the power they hold via striking. unfortunately they're probably not willing to do so, being "content" with slightly less horrible conditions than whatever/wherever they're coming from. seriously, labor should be on the same side. those who helped capital get to the point that will allow them to automate will not be thanked or "grandfathered in". it's disappointing that truckers seem unwilling or unable to stand up for their enormous power. if 10% of trucks stopped running in the US, and 1% were found to have parked on various onramps/highways in the US, i have a feeling you'd have a major win for truck drivers and labor generally.

thesausageking 7y ago

Or maybe using laws to prevent technology from making the port more efficient has downsides that affect not just management and shipping companies, but working class people as well.

tehjoker 7y ago
How would keeping things exactly the same hurt working class people? Making the port more efficient helps business and consumers, but not workers who are continuously ground into the dirt, commanded, and deprived of basic necessities. These workers have a decent job because they have banded together to challenge management through their union. Unfortunately, making things efficient on management's terms means that workers are fired rather than sharing in the fruits of a more efficient company. Only democratic ownership of the companies by the working class can change this equation. Then improved efficiency would be enacted on the workers' terms and would actually improve the lives of ordinary people.

maximente 7y ago

sad to see this grey. there's a clear angle on all sorts of issues, to include class and immigration status: > On one side are well-paid union members, many of them third- and fourth-generation dockworkers. On the other is a nonunion, largely immigrant and Spanish-speaking workforce of independent contractors, who lack the hourly pay, overtime guarantees, pensions, healthcare insurance and job security that ILWU workers enjoy. geez, it's almost as if there's a racial and cultural divide at play here... The Bearded One would be sad, i think. if what i keep reading about trucking being the most popular job in many states per capita, then these workers don't understand the power they hold via striking. unfortunately they're probably not willing to do so, being "content" with slightly less horrible conditions than whatever/wherever they're coming from. seriously, labor should be on the same side. those who helped capital get to the point that will allow them to automate will not be thanked or "grandfathered in". it's disappointing that truckers seem unwilling or unable to stand up for their enormous power. if 10% of trucks stopped running in the US, and 1% were found to have parked on various onramps/highways in the US, i have a feeling you'd have a major win for truck drivers and labor generally.