Longshore Workers in Oakland Call for a General Strike

At Occupy Wall Street on Friday, 10/28/11, Jack Heyman announces the solidarity of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union with the Occupy Oakland's call for a General Strike on November 2 in response to the police violence against protesters in Oakland.

Jack Hayman in this video is calling for the Longshoremen to shut down all Bay Area ports on November 2, in the video he says he also hopes that the ports of the whole west coast get shut down.He goes on to call for workers in other ports to join them.
Like it or not this huge! The economic impact of this alone is going to be in the millions if not more. Ports are definitely a choke point in the American economy, especially given our increased reliance on foreign manufacturing. The economic ripple effects could not just have an impact on our economy but on others as well, especially China's.
If this is just a one day isolated thing I really don't see much happening ( although that alone would be millions of dollars in lost revenue). If it goes on much longer or spreads thing could get really interesting.
I'm in favor of OWS and I'm in favor of Unions. Power always corrupts and I believe that that power should be constrained by checks and balances. In my opinion OWS and Unions both serve to balance and check existing power structures.

May I ask a questiion?

Assume that this does go on for more than a day, say, a month. During that time the products coming in from Asia don't come in. Won't those missing products hurt average Americans more than the hurt to the 1%? I know I buy more things from China than Michael Moore does.

It would have an impact, agreed, but on whom?

Realistically speaking I'm sure if this were to go on for any length of time it would be declared a national security issue and the National Guard would be sent in.
The fact that something like this is even floated out there probably gives pause to economically and politically powerful segments of our society, which I think is a good thing.
As far as hurting the average American goes, I can't think of anything that has enriched the 1% more while hurting the average American than globalization has.

Dear jlv70,

Thanks very much for your answer. I hope you don't mind a few more questions, it's not clear in my mind yet.

Realistically speaking I'm sure if this were to go on for any length of time it would be declared a national security issue and the National Guard would be sent in.

I suspect you're right, and the Unions probably know it too. Does this mean it's just a gesture and the strike will be cancelled before it has any serious effect?

The fact that something like this is even floated out there probably gives pause to economically and politically powerful segments of our society, which I think is a good thing.

It's always a good thing to pause and reasess, but what do you think the 1% will do? You and the Unions have already agreed that the strike will be cancelled before there's any significant impact; why wouldn't the 1% just keep sipping their lattes and let the government handle it?

As far as hurting the average American goes, I can't think of anything that has enriched the 1% more while hurting the average American than globalization has.

I'm not sure what you mean by globilization. To end it would we have to stop trade with other countries? Only purchase products that were made by American workers? Would you clear that up for me?

With respect,
Charles1952

Originally posted by jlv70
I'm in favor of OWS and I'm in favor of Unions. Power always corrupts and I believe that that power should be constrained by checks and balances. In my opinion OWS and Unions both serve to balance and check existing power structures.

Could be a Boston Tea Party sort of thing! lol. Is this about an trade imbalance? Do american "consumers" really owe China or americans that took their factories over there anything?

Originally posted by charles1952
May I ask a questiion?

Assume that this does go on for more than a day, say, a month. During that time the products coming in from Asia don't come in. Won't those missing products hurt average Americans more than the hurt to the 1%? I know I buy more things from China than Michael Moore does.

It would have an impact, agreed, but on whom?

Yea it would hurt average americans and thats the problem. They have no alternative than to buy imports in most cases. This is the reality of the globalized economic promised land! We may have the ax but the philistines have the files! America used to have the ax and the files!

Dear charles 1952,

Thank you for posting on my thread and thank you for your kindness and courtesy, your truly a gentleman. I only wish others were to take note of this.
I don't pretend to be right about everything, or to have all the answers, but I respect everyone's opinion whether I agree with it or not.
Basically I feel that economic power and political power have become unified to the extent that there's no real difference between the two.
Case in point, political candidates spend millions to get a job that pays a couple hundred thousand dollars a year. Lobbyists mold and craft legislation beneficial to big corporations. Some corporations are exempt from regulation while others aren't, why because they use economic power to hold sway over political power.
I could go on and on, but that's how I feel, that our government is controlled to a large extent by corporate interests.
I don't speak for the Unions so I can't agree for them on anything either. They said it would only be a one day strike, so that's all I know. That being said just a one day strike would be expensive, expensive enough to have an impact on our lives, probably not, but it would definitely cost someone some money.
Of course the 1% would be sipping lattes, you don't see any of them in riot gear.
Globalization is basically corporations maximizing profits using global resources. It's cheaper to produce goods in some countries rather than others. Some countries have higher labor costs than others. Some countries have stricter environmental regulations than others.Overall, I feel the net effect of globalization has had a negative effect on the average American, and I feel that wage and income data back me up on this one.
I would like to see trade policies instituted that would benefit all Americans and not just the richest.
I think that people of good will can debate and disagree with each other without dehumanizing and making enemies of each other. If civil discourse is lost, civilization as we know it will be soon to follow.


Respectfully,
jlv70

Dear jlv70,

You are very welcome, giving you respect and courtesy is the least I can do. There is far too much fighting on ATS, so I'm delighted to find someone willing to talk peacefully.

You may be surprised (although why, I don't know) to learn that I agree with you in many areas. Your analysis of the intertwining of economic and political power is quite correct. My off the cuff, long term, solution is to reduce Washington's power, making it less attractive for lobbyists to try to buy it.

I don't speak for the Unions so I can't agree for them on anything either. They said it would only be a one day strike, so that's all I know. That being said just a one day strike would be expensive, expensive enough to have an impact on our lives, probably not, but it would definitely cost someone some money.

I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm sure there would be some economic effect, but I wonder if it would be a publicity move like OWS. I think that's what you mentioned earlier, I'm just coming around to seeing your point.

I'm a little worried that bringing the Unions in will increase the "Temperature" and make violence more likely. A longshoreman has no trouble with a fight or property damage, OWS seems to be trying to control themselves.

Globalization is basically corporations maximizing profits using global resources. It's cheaper to produce goods in some countries rather than others. Some countries have higher labor costs than others. Some countries have stricter environmental regulations than others.Overall, I feel the net effect of globalization has had a negative effect on the average American, and I feel that wage and income data back me up on this one.
I would like to see trade policies instituted that would benefit all Americans and not just the richest.

This is the kind of question that economists write long papers about. I think that if we were to bat it around for a good long while we could come up with something a bit more specific, but for now, I'll say you're absolutely right. This is going to take a team of really thoughtful pros to get a handle on. Out of my league.

I think that people of good will can debate and disagree with each other without dehumanizing and making enemies of each other. If civil discourse is lost, civilization as we know it will be soon to follow.

My limited experience here is that in fora such as the Middle East, Religion, OWS, and some others, ATS can't stop themselves from making enemies. It sometimes works if you get two or three peaceful types in the first twenty or so posts, but, no guarantee.

With respect,
Charles1952