Ports Shut Down from Maine to Texas as 45,000 Dockworkers Launch Strike over Pay & Automation

[Uncle Joe]

Dockworkers from Maine to Texas have walked out on the job at all East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, launching the first strike of its kind in almost 50 years. The International Longshoremen's Association represents some 45,000 workers at 36 ports who are demanding higher wages and guarantees that jobs won't be automated. "This is a time of labor mobilization in this country," says Peter Goodman, New York Times global economics correspondent, who explains President Biden is caught between union pressure to back the strike and the threat of consumer prices rising while shipping is disrupted. "We're only weeks away from a presidential election that could very well hinge on economic sentiments and unhappiness over inflation."

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. The president of the Longshoreman's union is close pals with Trump.

That fact should be included in every report about the strike.

[bahboo]

2. and there you have it....

[Frank D. Lincoln]

3. That's like a mouse being close pals with a hungry cat. nt