DeSantis has de solutionFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis been at the helm for several hurricanes and has the reputation of bypassing government red tape to get things done in record time. The dockworkers strike is complicating his Helene response – but in typical fashion, he's got a way around that.
"This has the potential of really disrupting the hurricane recovery and of hurting the people who were victims of the storm," he says. "This could lead – and indeed if it goes on longer, will lead – to significant supply chain disruptions. This will cause delays in the delivery of critical goods, and it will result in inventory shortages. "At my direction, the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard will be deployed to critical ports affected to maintain order and, if possible, resume operations. So, Florida is open. We want to use our resources to be able to get all this stuff to the market." DeSantis says every 36 hours the strike continues equals a full week of supply chain disruptions. |
"It's a big deal," Jim Nelles, a supply chain consultant, told American Family Radio just hours after the strike was announced. A six-year contract expired at midnight Sept. 30.
As part of its 45,000-member dock worker strike, the first since 1977, the International Longshoremen's Association is demanding a new contract with much higher wages – a 77% increase spread over seven years – for workers who average $81,900 a year.
The starting salary for the union jobs is $20 hourly, not including overtime pay.
The dock workers are striking under the leadership of their ILA president, Harold Daggett, a reputed mafia associate who collected more than $900,000 from two union salaries last year.
The union boss also owns a $3 million, 7,100-square-foot New Jersey mansion.
The ILA is also demanding a “non-negotiable” ban on port automation – robots and similar high-tech innovations – that would naturally replace dock workers.
Back in June, contract negotiations broke down after the ILA complained two major logistics companies were utilizing an automated processing gate to process imported trucks at multiple U.S. ports, according to a supply chain website.
According to a related story by AL.com, the Port of Alabama has utilized that technology for 16 years without union complaints because the semi-automated gate requires human operation.
The ILA contract dispute is with the United States Maritime Alliance, an association that represents powerful corporate container carriers, terminal operators and port associations.
Citing an analysis from JP Morgan Chase, Nelles said the strike is costing the U.S. economy $5 billion a day.
“For every day the strike happens, it's going to take one week to recover,” Nelles told show host Jenna Ellis. “Meaning if this strike goes for seven days, it's going to take up to two months to recover from this strike."
Approximately 68% of U.S. exports are loaded and leave through the ports where union members are striking, Nelles advised, and 46% of imports are unloaded there and reach our store shelves.
If this continues, Nelles warned, we will see fruits and vegetables not showing up in stores. Everything from automobiles and pharmaceuticals to consumer goods will also become unavailable.
