There has been a tentative settlement of the labor dispute between the longshoremen's union and the port operators that had threatened to shut down all ports on the east coast as well as the Gulf of Mexico two days from now. What is important about this strike and the settlement is the nature of the dispute. They were not fighting about wages or hours. They were not fighting about health insurance or working conditions. No, the dispute was basically about whether or not container royalties would remain in place. That's right, "container royalties".
For those who have never heard of container royalties, they are payments to the union based upon the number of container shipments that pass through the port. In essence, these payments are like a tax levied by the union on each container which arrives at or departs from the port. The concept was established 52 years ago. At that time, shipping was just beginning to move from mostly dry bulk shipments loaded and unloaded by teams of workers to freight moving in containers that were unloaded by crane and placed on a railcar or truck for futher shipment. The use of new container method resulted in a reduction in the need for longshoremen. In order to compensate the men losing their work, the container royalty was created. Shippers paid a small amount per container and the proceeds were distributed to all of the union members. These payments were supposed to ease the move of the union members to other jobs.
Well, now it is 52 years later. There no longer are any longshoremen who worked in the field before the advent of container shipping. These people have very high paying jobs with great benefits. For example, longshoremen are one of the few jobs where healthcare comes from the employer for free. The average union member earns about double the median national wage. Then, on top of the great wages and benefits, there is the container royalty payment. Last year those container royalties amounted to $211 million. Let me put it another way: the container royalties are payments to the rich that the rest of us subsidize. No, these are not the fabled 1%, but at their income levels, they are in the top 5%. Every item that is imported or exported or even shipped from port to port within the USA is more expensive because of the container royalties.
The port operators have seen their earnings dry up in recent years. Combined profits for port operations in the USA are down over 70% from the level of five years ago. The lack of earnings threatens the ability of the ports to maintain investment and to keep up efficiency. This, in turn, threatens the livelihood of millions of Americans who work in industries that depend on sea-going trade. The operators had held out to eliminate the container royalties on some sort of reasonable basis.
Now we have a settlement. Of course, the settlement came only after president Obama stepped into the negotiation and "called for a settlement". According to reports, Obama put pressure on the port operators to abandon their attempt to end the container royalties.
So let's boil this all down. For the few years, we have heard Obama tell us repeatedly that the Republicans were the party who tried to protect the rich. Yet, here we have Obama mixing into a labor dispute to protect the rich workers. Obama is perfectly prepared to protect the rich, so long as they are his supporters. But don't wait for that story to appear in your local news. It won't.
For those who have never heard of container royalties, they are payments to the union based upon the number of container shipments that pass through the port. In essence, these payments are like a tax levied by the union on each container which arrives at or departs from the port. The concept was established 52 years ago. At that time, shipping was just beginning to move from mostly dry bulk shipments loaded and unloaded by teams of workers to freight moving in containers that were unloaded by crane and placed on a railcar or truck for futher shipment. The use of new container method resulted in a reduction in the need for longshoremen. In order to compensate the men losing their work, the container royalty was created. Shippers paid a small amount per container and the proceeds were distributed to all of the union members. These payments were supposed to ease the move of the union members to other jobs.
Well, now it is 52 years later. There no longer are any longshoremen who worked in the field before the advent of container shipping. These people have very high paying jobs with great benefits. For example, longshoremen are one of the few jobs where healthcare comes from the employer for free. The average union member earns about double the median national wage. Then, on top of the great wages and benefits, there is the container royalty payment. Last year those container royalties amounted to $211 million. Let me put it another way: the container royalties are payments to the rich that the rest of us subsidize. No, these are not the fabled 1%, but at their income levels, they are in the top 5%. Every item that is imported or exported or even shipped from port to port within the USA is more expensive because of the container royalties.
The port operators have seen their earnings dry up in recent years. Combined profits for port operations in the USA are down over 70% from the level of five years ago. The lack of earnings threatens the ability of the ports to maintain investment and to keep up efficiency. This, in turn, threatens the livelihood of millions of Americans who work in industries that depend on sea-going trade. The operators had held out to eliminate the container royalties on some sort of reasonable basis.
Now we have a settlement. Of course, the settlement came only after president Obama stepped into the negotiation and "called for a settlement". According to reports, Obama put pressure on the port operators to abandon their attempt to end the container royalties.
So let's boil this all down. For the few years, we have heard Obama tell us repeatedly that the Republicans were the party who tried to protect the rich. Yet, here we have Obama mixing into a labor dispute to protect the rich workers. Obama is perfectly prepared to protect the rich, so long as they are his supporters. But don't wait for that story to appear in your local news. It won't.
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