October 3, 2024
After two days the port strike is over. You can stop panic buying toilet paper now.
The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance just announced they have reached a tentative agreement on wages.
That means those 45,000 longshoremen who have been on strike since Tuesday will be back on the job effective immediately.
The details were not announced but reportedly, the two sides have agreed to a 62% wage increase over the course of a new six year contract. The negotiations are not over. The longshoremen’s union says they will work under their current contract until January 15th while these negotiations continue. As I have said the dispute was not over just wages it was also over the use of automation at the ports.
Now – I have been seeing all the videos on the internet and on the news of people panic buying toilet paper because of this strike. I just want to say this because if we come across this issue in the future i want you to be fully informed. Longshoremen who work at our ports handle all the imports and exports the United States deals with on any given day. That means these men and women handle, unload and move those huge shipping containers that come into and out of this country.
Ok – now that you know that — let’s think reasonably. Toilet paper isn’t imported. Therefore it would not be impacted by this port strike or any port strike. Toilet paper is primarily made in the United States and if anything it’s being transported by truck or train not through the ports. So there is no need to panic buy it.
Read the announcement here.
