It's On

For the first time in 47 years, Biden has flatly ruled out invoking Taft-Hartley to stop the strike, and is accusing the shipping companies, particularly foreign ones, as profiteering: 

Earlier today, over 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) went on strike against the United States Maritime  Alliance(USMX), an association of various shipping employers dominated by multinational shippers.

The strike was the first time that workers in East Coast ports went on strike since 1977.

Unlike previous decades, when the presidential administration would invoke Taft-Hartley to stop a strike, the Biden Administration has vowed not to do this.

"There's collective bargaining, and I don't believe in Taft-Hartley," Biden told reporters on Monday.

………

"We're gonna win this f%$#ing thing," said ILA President Harold Daggett at a rally of dockworkers earlier today. "Trust me, they can't survive too long and we're gonna get what the f*ck we deserve. Believe me."

(%$# mine)

………

As a Vice President of the ILA, who has been at the table with the port employers, Riley says he is impressed by the way the Biden Administration has handled things.

Biden has publicly called out the port employer association United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), whose board is dominated by foreign-flag carriers Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk, CMA CGM, and Cosco Shipping.  

"Now is not the time for ocean carriers to refuse to negotiate a fair wage for these essential workers while raking in record profits," Biden said in a public statement, "My Administration will be monitoring for any price gouging activity that benefits foreign ocean carriers, including those on the USMX board."

Even behind closed doors, Riley says that Biden has applied heavy pressure on the foreign owned carriers at the bargaining table.

Here's hoping that the ILA has the USMX's lunch.

BTW, the New York Times coverage is horrible, with the reporters (and their editors) attempting to portray the longshoremen as pampered princesses.

As Atrios says, that f%$#ing paper. 

No clue about the potential repercussions politically though.