Reuters: Unions make U.S. Ports Less Competitive

There’s a reason that the nation’s ports have, once again, become the hotbed of labor problems: human beings are less effective than machines. Reuters has a full analysis on the issue, explaining that for every 20 dockworkers used at an American port, there are five (or less) dockworkers in ports at Rotterdam or Shanghai. After the eight day strike in California and the near-miss on the East and Gulf Coast ports, shippers have become wary of what could happen next.

The News Must Go On

Rather than emulating the Baker’s Union brinkmanship with Hostess, the Guild, the labor union representing the employees of two Philadelphia newspapers, took liquidation threats seriously and agreed to renegotiate with management. Interstate General Media gave their employees an ultimatum last week: be willing to renegotiate or face shuttered doors on Friday.