DoomsdaysCW<p>'Causing heads to explode': Alarms sound as <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProTrump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ProTrump</span></a> union leader accused of '<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sabotage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sabotage</span></a>'</p><p>Story by Matthew Chapman<br>October 3, 2024</p><p>"Political observers and experts are raising alarms about the International <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Longshoreman" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Longshoreman</span></a>'s Association union strike, which has seen <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/dockworkers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>dockworkers</span></a> suspend their duties unloading cargo at ports along the East and Gulf Coasts — speculating whether the head of the union is attempting economic sabotage in favor of former President Donald <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a>.</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USMX" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>USMX</span></a>, the key guild of maritime employers, offered the ILA upwards of 60 percent salary increases in their new contracts. The ILA, however, is demanding even higher increases, as well as the continuation of exorbitant fees to handle shipping containers — a practice so expensive, according to maritime journalist John Konrad, that U.S. ports frequently ship freight over roads hundreds of miles at ten times the expense to consumers rather than transport containers onto secondary barges at a fraction of the price to consumers — as well as a total ban on any new technology to automate ports, which industry experts have warned could destroy the competitiveness of U.S. shipping.</p><p>"The extreme nature of the demands has caused speculation among observers that the whole thing might be a ploy to get Trump elected."</p><p><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/causing-heads-to-explode-alarms-sound-as-pro-trump-union-leader-accused-of-sabotage/ar-AA1rEiSc" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ca</span><span class="invisible">using-heads-to-explode-alarms-sound-as-pro-trump-union-leader-accused-of-sabotage/ar-AA1rEiSc</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HaroldDaggett" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HaroldDaggett</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LongshoremenStrike" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LongshoremenStrike</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TrumpAllies" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TrumpAllies</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PoliticalSabotage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PoliticalSabotage</span></a></p>