Fatal Attraction and West Coast Ports
I find that most things in life can be broken down into a few simple paradigms: those of high school drama and/or the rules of dating and seduction. We humans just don’t change all that much, regardless of age or perceived sophistication.
Here’s the situation. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach account for 1/3 of America’s containerized imports. The entire 29 west coast ports in total account for 68% of all container shipments in the US and about 12.5% of US GDP – pretty impactful area right?
The problem is that a contract dispute has been raging between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and port operators. The previous contract between the two expired on June 30th, 2014 and a battle has been waging ever since, affecting goods coming into the country, (which hurts the domestic companies that use or sell the imports goods) and American firms that export.
For example, California citrus growers have lost a half a billion in exports just since November because due to the strikes, containers have been sitting for 10 days at the pier before being loaded, according to the trade association California Citrus Mutual, destroying the produce. Washington apple growers claim they are now losing $6 million a week!
Lest you think that those who work in the ports are being abused, the port owners have so far agreed to raise the base hourly wage for senior skilled workers from $35.68 an hour to $40.68 over five years, which is an annual increase of about 3%. Most workers also receive overtime and special skills premiums which put the current average wage to more than $50 and hour. That means that the current average wage is over $100,000 a year, which is about double median household income! I’m all for standing up for yourself and making sure you get paid what you feel you are worth, but I’m struggling to see how this group is being grossly underpaid.
The situation has intensified to the point where the ports are basically going to be shut down for the entire weekend. So what does this have to do with the one-night-stand-gone-oh-so-wrong tale in Fatal Attraction?
Those representing the labor unions ought to have learned from Glenn Close, aka the bunny boiler’s mistake. Be careful of putting up so much of a fuss when you don’t get what you want that you make yourself so incredibly unattractive that the other party decides to get as far away from you as possible! That’s pretty much dating rule #1.
The unions have caused so many problems for those using the ports that many are looking elsewhere for ways to get their goods into or out of the country. With the dramatic fall in oil prices, the cost of shipping via air has become much more competitive. Increasingly shippers, frustrated with the endless and costly delays, are permanently re-routing freight through the East Coast. Last year both the East and Gulf coasts grew faster than the West in loaded imports.
Union representatives are fighting to increase pay for their union members, but the likelihood that port operators will even be able to financially accept their demands is decreasing with every shipper that permanently leaves the port and with every dollar that operators lose as a result of the strikes and work-slowing-
If you want to get someone to find you more attractive, (and thus be willing to pay you more) don’t try to destroy them. Didn’t work with Michael Douglas and isn’t likely to work in the ports.
