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FTA: "Thankfully, union workers figured out that the answer to this problem was firing their leaders and replacing them with militant, principled leaders who ca

• nickff 11mo ago
  Have you seen how and what the Longshore Workers negotiate (mentioning them because the grandparent did)? They falsely claim many things, such as that port automation is dangerous (when it isn't in Europe), to increase the number of members employed at West-coast ports, and are able to hold downstream customers hostage, because they have a monopoly on stevedore-age across the West coast. If one company obtained a monopoly the way the LSW did (through gradual horizontal integration), they would have been stopped under anti-trust. Sector-wide unions in general seem prone to anti-competitive practices (including, but not limited to extortion).
  • rickydroll 11mo ago
    > They falsely claim many things, such as that port automation is dangerous (when it isn't in Europe) I believe it is not a false claim as much as incomplete. I suspect EU ports are more worker-friendly and safer.
    • IAmBroom 11mo ago
      So you posit that port automation truly is dangerous? Reasons?
      • rickydroll 11mo ago
        That's part of the incomplete. My suspicion is that, given the EU's record of greater worker safety than the US, port automation under EU health and safety guidelines is safer. In contrast, the almost non-existent US health and safety guidelines would make port automation a health hazard.