Work slowdown at Port of Long Beach means "no collectibles for you!"

[Avactionfigures]

..because having the Government force you to do what it says or you lose your job, is such a great idea.

Well it actually is when it is causing problems for many many people, especially when the strikers are making $40+ an hour

Exactly this isn't an example of the government by means of absolute force stepping in. There's a lot more that factors into this than just the government.

 

[Taibhse]

Well it actually is when it is causing problems for many many people, especially when the strikers are making $40+ an hour in 2002, probably a lot more now. If everyone from every profession strike and are demanding ridiculous expectations then there would be anarchy. No police, no emergency services, no grocery stores, no banks..... So yeah the government stepping in would be for the best, especially considering the same workers have been doing this thing for the last few years.

Yeah, I noticed how some folks were focusing on the $40+ph.. seemed like the vibe was either: 'the Dockers are earning more than me, so stuff 'em' ..or 'I am happy to volunteer someone else for a pay cut, so I can get an action figure quicker'.. imho, not sentiments likely to be replicated, if it was the individual concerned being targeted for an economic haircut by their own boss, after 12 years+ of employment.


'First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.'

- Pastor Martin Neimoller.

 

[Chronos1919]

You have to realize though that this is effecting more than just "action figures". A large percentage of our imports and exports go through those ports for the entire US. Reading through other forums people have been waiting for months on medical devices/equipment, personal vehicles, inventory for businesses, etc.

 

[Collectorcol]

But toys are more important...

 

[Chronos1919]

But toys are more important...

True, but if we act like the other issues at hand are of higher importance, it makes us look like better.

 

[devilof76]

'First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.'

- Pastor Martin Neimoller.

WTF are you talking about? It was the communists and socialists coming for everyone (most notoriously amongst whom were the Jews).

 

[Chronos1919]

He's saying that once the union gets dissolved, we're next. The union is the only thing standing between the government and toy collectors.

 

[The Mike]

This thread is getting amazingly deep. I am interested to see how this is going since it's getting no real coverage in Northern California.

 

[Chronos1919]

I noticed that it doesn't seem to be getting much coverage at all. Most people I've mentioned it to haven't even heard there was an issue.

 

[Collectorcol]

Not expecting anything until April at the earliest.
Hope it gets resolved for anyone waiting for their toys.

 

[WWEJedi]

Yeah, I noticed how some folks were focusing on the $40+ph.. seemed like the vibe was either: 'the Dockers are earning more than me, so stuff 'em' ..or 'I am happy to volunteer someone else for a pay cut, so I can get an action figure quicker'.. imho, not sentiments likely to be replicated, if it was the individual concerned being targeted for an economic haircut by their own boss, after 12 years+ of employment.


'First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.'

- Pastor Martin Neimoller.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Comparing the Nazis rise to power to a strike at a port?

Please do not make this comparison ever again, it is not right, not even in the slightest way imaginable.

As someone said earlier, toys are not the only issue at play. Medical supplies, stock for small business, etc....

These people make more than $40 an hour, they made it in 2002. They are holding the owners and people who use that port for numerous things hostage to there demands.

These people do not earn more than me, not even close. I am not mad or jealous at the amount of money they make, I am upset because even after making more than most people they still have to cry and whine to get there way. They are harming thousands if not hundred of thousands peoples lives and careers and yet they do not even know it.

If they were making $9 an hour and striking, sure I understand, doing that job for that pay would be a unfair, but not when they are making 4 or 5 times that amount.

 

[potato]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Comparing the Nazis rise to power to a strike at a port?

Please do not make this comparison ever again, it is not right, not even in the slightest way imaginable.

As someone said earlier, toys are not the only issue at play. Medical supplies, stock for small business, etc....

These people make more than $40 an hour, they made it in 2002. They are holding the owners and people who use that port for numerous things hostage to there demands.

These people do not earn more than me, not even close. I am not mad or jealous at the amount of money they make, I am upset because even after making more than most people they still have to cry and whine to get there way. They are harming thousands if not hundred of thousands peoples lives and careers and yet they do not even know it.

If they were making $9 an hour and striking, sure I understand, doing that job for that pay would be a unfair, but not when they are making 4 or 5 times that amount.

you might wanna relook at what you type, clearly you're trying to say they make more than you.

i'm not sure actually which law permits them to do so, but i believe a person's terms & condition is clearly written in the contract that they legally accepts, and should carry out his designated tasks in return for the promised amount of money. the only legal way for them to do so is to have everyone apply for annual/sick leaves so the port doesn't have enough working personal to function properly, even then there's only so many days they can do it. and by the end of the month they'd have zero leaves left for the holidays.

if this issue is going on for few weeks, the port should consider taking in new workers and fire those that have breached their contract terms & condition.

same goes for those european railway unions. they are taking it for granted & exploiting the same hand that feeds off them, and worst of all, bringing big inconvenience to the people.

 

[Collectorcol]

Go slow...

 

[Kamandi]

source: West Coast Shippers Say Port Backups Untenable Amid Talks - Bloomberg

West Coast Shippers Say Port Backups Untenable Amid Talks
By James Nash - Jan 12, 2015

A port slowdown and eight months of fruitless labor talks with longshoremen have brought West Coast (WCPM) port congestion to the point of a breakdown, according to representatives of shipping companies.

Backups at the five largest ports have reached levels that are “no longer sustainable,” the Pacific Maritime Association, the bargaining agent for shippers, said today in a statement. While stopping short of a threat, the statement suggests the long-running labor dispute may be moving closer to a work stoppage like the one that shut down 29 West Coast ports for 10 days in 2002.

“The PMA has a sense of urgency to resolve these contract talks and get our ports moving again,” association spokesman Steve Getzug said in the statement. “Unfortunately, it appears the union’s motivation is to continue slowdowns in an attempt to gain leverage in the bargaining.”

The shippers’ association has been in negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union since May. A federal mediator agreed Jan. 6 to intervene in the talks.

Craig Merrilees, a spokesman for the 20,000-member union, said association negotiators have conceded that the delays are mostly due to a shortage of truck chassis to unload shipping containers. The management side is proposing to end night shifts at many ports, which would only worsen backups, “in a self-serving attempt to gain the upper hand at the bargaining table,” Merrilees said in a written statement.

Offshore Queues

Both sides agree that congestion in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma, has slowed the movement of goods from overseas to stores and factories in the U.S.

Ten ships were queued up offshore at the harbor shared by the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports this afternoon, up from as few as five in December, said Phillip Sanfield, a spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles.

Backups could worsen with a push to move goods from Asia in advance of the two-week Lunar New Year holiday, which begins Feb. 19, Sanfield said.

The delays have stunted revenue for companies such as MOBI Technologies Inc., a Culver City, California-based maker of digital thermometers, wireless audio-visual monitors and other products.

David Naghi, the privately held company’s chief executive, said delays in importing products from China kept MOBI products from store shelves during the holiday shopping season, causing the company to end 2014 without a profit.

“We still have products sitting on the boats that should have been in stores a month ago,” Naghi said.

...........

 

[WWEJedi]

you might wanna relook at what you type, clearly you're trying to say they make more than you.

i'm not sure actually which law permits them to do so, but i believe a person's terms & condition is clearly written in the contract that they legally accepts, and should carry out his designated tasks in return for the promised amount of money. the only legal way for them to do so is to have everyone apply for annual/sick leaves so the port doesn't have enough working personal to function properly, even then there's only so many days they can do it. and by the end of the month they'd have zero leaves left for the holidays.

if this issue is going on for few weeks, the port should consider taking in new workers and fire those that have breached their contract terms & condition.

same goes for those european railway unions. they are taking it for granted & exploiting the same hand that feeds off them, and worst of all, bringing big inconvenience to the people.

Ummm.... no..... no they don't, I have more money than them. That is not even the point I was trying to make though...

It does not matter how much I have, it is what they have... and to be making that much and striking is just pathetic.

 

[devilof76]

The strike isn't even about wages.

 

[WWEJedi]

Re: Work slowdown at Port of Long Beach means "no collectibles for you!

The strike isn't even about wages.

I know. It is still pathetic though.

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Work slowdown at Port of Long Beach means "no collectibles for you!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Comparing the Nazis rise to power to a strike at a port?

Please do not make this comparison ever again, it is not right, not even in the slightest way imaginable.

As someone said earlier, toys are not the only issue at play. Medical supplies, stock for small business, etc....

These people make more than $40 an hour, they made it in 2002. They are holding the owners and people who use that port for numerous things hostage to there demands.

These people do not earn more than me, not even close. I am not mad or jealous at the amount of money they make, I am upset because even after making more than most people they still have to cry and whine to get there way. They are harming thousands if not hundred of thousands peoples lives and careers and yet they do not even know it.

If they were making $9 an hour and striking, sure I understand, doing that job for that pay would be a unfair, but not when they are making 4 or 5 times that amount.

You have missed the point entirely.. you had proposed that governments should step in to remove the rights of groups of citizens, you do not approve of.. the Nazis were voted into power with exactly the same mandate.. do not blindly assume that democracy is a birthright, thousands of years of human civilisation prove otherwise.. Constitutions can be amended, and sleepwalking into authoritarianism is very easy to do.. 'Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny'.

First World problems.. virtually everyone in a developed country is earning a very great deal 'more than most people' on this planet.
A contract is a contract, that applies to management as well as employees.. no-one volunteers to take a pay cut, so why would dock workers.. if you take a pay cut, then I as a boss am going to come back next year with demands for more cuts.. 'cost efficiencies' are much, much easier than genuinely innovative management or 'boosting profits' any other way.. why stop at $9 an hour?.. at $5 an hour the docks would be even more competitive and profitable.. and as management I would naturally insist on a pay rise for 'boosting profits'.. that is how the game is played.

Pulling figures out of the air for what the job is 'worth' would be rather more convincing, if you had actually worked on the docks and invested over a decade in your terms of employment contract.

 

[Chronos1919]

Now that we've established that none of us know anything about this situation. Anything new?

 

[potato]

Ummm.... no..... no they don't, I have more money than them. That is not even the point I was trying to make though...

It does not matter how much I have, it is what they have... and to be making that much and striking is just pathetic.

your statement just doesn't sound right, if you make more money than them, why do you feel the need to say you aren't jealous about them, and since you made more than them, how would you know the amount they made is more than enough? i mean i would understand all this if you are making less than them.