Monday December 12 is Armageddon Day for the Occupy movement on the West Coast. Or at least it was supposed to be Armageddon Day until recent events have somewhat dampened prognostications. Well over a month ago, when the whole OWS thing was full of piss and vinegar, Occupy Oakland convinced all the other Occupations from San Diego up to Vancouver to stage a total blockade of all West Coast ports on December 12, bringing (it was hoped) the capitalist system to a sudden crashing halt.
While the plan is still afoot, the intervening weeks changed the political landscape so much that now I’m pretty sure many of the Occupiers wish they hadn’t made such grandiose pronouncements. On the day the plans were made for the overly ambitious port blockage, OWS felt (in its delusional little bubble, at least) that it was on the upswing, that America was joining them, that the revolution had arrived. Now? Not so much. My, what a few short weeks can wreak.
The first and most visible setback was that the Occupation has ceased being an actual “occupation.” In practically every city participating in the blockade, the leftist mayors and liberal municipal governments have evicted the Occupiers from their encampments, leaving the movement with no physical locus, no rallying point, no raison d’être; since they lack specific demands or a coherent worldview, the physical fact of their bodily agglomeration was their only distinguishing characteristic. Now: Oakland? Evicted. San Francisco? Evicted. Los Angeles? Evicted. Portland? Evicted. Seattle? Soon, very soon.
The second, possibly more devastating setback, was when the media stopped putting Occupy news on the front page, while sympathetic academics unwittingly accelerated the demise of the OWS movement by announcing that it had “already won” because it had “changed the terms of the national discourse,” which is what leftists always say whenever one of their schemes goes belly up.
And now this, the final nail in the coffin:
Union not keen on new Occupy Oakland port blockade:
Remember last month’s several-hour shutdown of the Port of Oakland – that “historic and effective action” that “lives in the hearts of people across Oakland and around the country,” according to Occupy Oakland?
Well, on Monday, there’s to be an encore, not just in Oakland, but up and down the West Coast, “in solidarity with longshoremen, port workers and truckers in their struggle against the 1 percent,” says the group.
“We will blockade all of the West Coast Ports on Dec. 12. Together we are unstoppable! Strike while the iron is hot!” it declared in a call to arms.
Trouble is, the folks they purport to be in solidarity with don’t seem hot on the idea to “effectively shutdown the hubs of commerce” at all.
“Any actions organized by outside groups, including the proposed Dec. 12 shutdown of various terminals on the West Coast, have not been vetted by our union’s democratically led process,” the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said. “Any decisions made by groups outside of the union’s democratic process do not hold water, regardless of the intent.”
The Occupy movements that make a fetish of applying direct democracy and near absolute consensus to its own decision making might want to take note of that.
Richard Mead, president of Local 10, which represents dockworkers at the Port of Oakland, said, “Our position is in the international’s press release. We’re not facilitating (Occupy Oakland’s strike call) in any way. We just want that clear.”
Jeff Smith, president of ILWU Local 8 in Portland, Ore., went further, telling the Portland Tribune his union won’t honor picket lines. “This is a third-party strike. We have to go to work,” he said.
As you may remember, the Occupy Wall Street protests were pitiably small at first, and only reached the tipping point of newsworthiness when tens of thousands of union members joined the street marches after the union leadership decided to co-opt the Occupiers’ platform for their own purposes. Even the Longshoremen themselves supported Occupy Oakland’s earlier strike calls.
The info is a bit dated, but perhaps, this is one of the reasons for the Longshoremen’s change of mind:
As of July, 2008 the base hourly day-side rate for longshoremen on the West coast is between $31.18 and $36.98. Though that’s the base salary, many jobs pay 10 hours per shift and often times when it’s busy you can pick up extra work. Many longies that hustle can do about $150k per year. Foreman and clerks make much more than that however.
Money talks, “solidarity” walks.
The Longshoremen’s union is a victim of its own success: Its members are so well-paid now, they have zero incentive to join the radical mobs. They are no longer the lower-class “working stiffs”; now they are among the best-paid manual laborers in the world, and are in the upper-middle-class of Americans.
The ILWU is more invested in capitalism succeeding than are even the capitalists themselves.
Love your work. Keep it up.
Not only that, but the longshoremen, especially on the West Coast, have actually benefited from offshoring because it’s increased the port volume. Somebody has to offload those Kias and iPads.
They are no longer the lower-class “working stiffs”; now they are among the best-paid manual laborers in the world, and are in the upper-middle-class of Americans.
But they still do what they’re told. Although there appears to be a ‘rift’ in the movement, this whole ‘occupy’ thing is merely the opening shot of the 2012 democrat campaign, and as such will eventually be reconciled with all the needs of the AFL-CIO. As they re-occupy the centers of the major media markets this spring, expect an amazing harmonization of their goals. Bank on it.
Trumka (The Mouth) himself predicted this whole scene last June.
We should continue to watch it, ask ‘what’s next?’, and head them off at the pass. The democrat central committee, whoever they are, have so obviously bitten off more than they can chew that I see this whole thing as a challenge: are we ready to take them on in the field? Mob wise, that is.
The 9-12 turnout terrified them.
Do We care enough to do it again, and again until we win? Why give them time to organize, to regroup right in front of our noses?
Freedom is my life. It is to die for.
I have observed that democrats, in general, consider themselves to be way, WAY much smarter than normal humans. Whatever we do escapes their understanding until they design to figure out a way to control said action.
What I’m saying is: ‘let’s have fun with teacher’- why don’t we be creative.
We have until January 3.
Nothing wrong with $35 a hour for a hard working man. That is only $72,000 gross a year for 52 forty’s.
Do you work 52 * 40? Most people have many weeks vacation.
And why damn them for working more hours? Hard work should pay off… for everyone. Why should 60+ hours only pay for the self employed?
Do not mistake me. I am no friend of unions. They , especially public ones, are a boil on the butt of a free People. This is spoken from a man(me) who comes from a strong union family and once was President(glorified gavel banger) of my Local.
Today a self employed individual…. a conservative.. ‘Bert .. small government my whole life…
In short:
A Simple Bricklayer
You need to read the fine print of the union contracts. They never get just “base” pay. Work 4 hours…get paid for 8 if they can’t “find” more work for you for the entire 8 hours. Double time if you work nights, weekends…and triple time if it’s a holiday.
The clerks, many of whom are paper-shufflers not necessary AT ALL, make well into 6 figures, pay negligible amounts toward retirement and healthcare, AND get 12 PAID weeks off every year…and they just tried to go on strike, so that they could make $150K a year, AND get 26% more paid into their retirement funds.
Soon, all of the West Coast port business is going to move to Mexico, and the unions will be whining like the UAW in Detroit about the unfairness of it all.
“Soon, all of the West Coast port business is going to move to Mexico, and the unions will be whining like the UAW in Detroit about the unfairness of it all.”
I’m not sure this will happen as soon as you like. Yes, there are ports but also needed are a fairly mature rail infrastructure, and/or good road system for OTR trucks (however, far less goods can be moved via OTR). On top of that with all the potential for delivery disruption via rail or truck thanks to all the crap happening in northern Mexico, I don’t see anyone moving anytime soon.
“All the crap happening in northern Mexico”…
And Los Angeles is located….where?
California IS northern Mexico, as everyone from your local La Raza commorg’er to VDH will tell you…
They also never really incude the stamps and such that come with them. Union ironworkers used to cost me over $80 an hour twenty years ago. They used to get 1 week of vacation for every 2 weeks they worked. There were 12 sepearate finds we had to contribute to like “retirement” and “annuity”. Why would they have a retirement and an annuity fund? Because they can. Because of Davis-Bacon, that’s why.
Add to that the fact that 1 mexican will outproduce 4 American longshoremen, because of work rules and overstaffing. There is nothing a longshoreman does that’s worth $150,000 a year. They don’t carry the stuff out of the hold anymore. They mostly do what all “hard working” Americans do today: watch some other guy who’s watching someone else, who’s pulling s knob that runs machine. And go for coffee. And BS on their cellphones.
Now you see why all the fuss over Mexican trucks coming over the border in greater numbers, and all the crap they’re trying to pull to keep them out. Go out to the dock in Oakland and watch them work. Then go to Honduras, to the dock, and watch them work. The Union guys should be very scared.
If monopolies are so bad, why do we only have one government?
My reading of the proceeding posts detected no condemnation of longshoremen. The irony is that a sizable number of two income longshoreman families fall into Obama’s one percent.
“two-income longshoreman families”
Ah, the West. Where the men are men, and so are the women.
And top scale probably get’s 6 weeks vacation a year. That’s why companies have to hire VRs, (vacation replacements) at less than half full scale and with no union rights.
Zombie,
I am hoping that in your usual fashion you will inform us of this “Battle Royale” with your pictures and humourous commentary on the 12th. Those of us in the South won’t know what happened otherwise. We wrote off California a long time ago.
It is always fascinating to see the lefties battle between themselves because it exposes how they fail to understand how diametrically opposed their sub-groups are to one another. This exercise of idiocy pits those on the left who want to earn money against those that believe they are entitled to it. My bet is with the Longshoremen too.
The Obama Administration may have to call the whole thing off.
Sorry to say, that won’t be happening this time. The action starts at 5am at a godforsaken port terminal in West Oakland. I may be dedicated, but I’m not that dedicated!
If I do make a post about the port shutdown, it will alas have to be a “me too” post and not contain original photos.
Give me a million-dollar operating budget, and that could change, however.
Stimulus funding!
As a former journalist, I understand too well your plight. However, I have great confidence in your ability to utilize the re-runs and add great commentary. Just keep us all posted.
Just call up the DOE and claim to be a solar panel startup and will donate two-thirds to the democrat party. You should have a couple hundred million before you hang up.
“Those of us in the South… wrote off California a long time ago.”
When you Jesusland bigots repatriate your kin who flooded the Golden State a generation ago and turned it from Republican to a wastrel Democrat majority, don’t whine about being “Californicated.”
For the problem with The People’s Republic of California . . . Look In The Mirror!
When you folks in MarxLand get your geography straight, you maybe can address the problems of your sinking, stinking state. When the writer said “we in the South…” he was referring to the southeastern United States, not south of the border. The south of the border folks are the ones who flooded your state.
> he was referring to the southeastern United States, not south of the border. The south of the border folks are the ones who flooded your state.
Nope – he’s referring to a previous flooding that made the current flooding possible – “When you Jesusland bigots repatriate your kin who flooded the Golden State *A GENERATION AGO*” – emphasis addded.
However, he’s wrong about the source of the flood that “turned it from Republican to a wastrel Democrat majority”. Those folks, who moved to coastal CA, came from the east coast. The folks who moved from the southestern US moved to the central valley and mountain areas, the parts of CA that have become even more republican.
No, it’s your relatives who wrecked my state. Take ‘em back. I’m tired of them.
Beg to differ lady. As someone else stated, and I paraphrase, if you want to find teh cause of the ruination of your state, go look in a mirror. Most of the migration to YOUR state came from the northeast, including west to Chicago. Truth be told, no self-respecting southerner would go to California on purpose. You’ve allowed your politicians like good old Jerry the Clown to run the state into the ground with their open borders and sanctuary cities. Don’t blame us.
Micha Elyi,
Excuse me for being so late in responding, but us “Jesusland Bigots” would have never turned your state into Californication Nation. You did this to yourselves.
The small number of my God Loving, Gun Touting, Rugged Individualist kinfolk who went to California 100 years ago to make money returned home and stayed there.
Given that the ports are all government entities, they hardly seem like a logical target for anti-capitalism action. The net effect of a one-day port work stoppage will be a lot of back charges from the shipping companies due to their ships being delayed. The ports aren’t so busy that they won’t catch up in a week.
Typical wank steppage.
Will we be getting a Vodka Pundit drunk blog of this glorious event? I have a feeling there will be a lot more trash than usual floating around the docks. A good thing coming from this would be many of the occupiers finally getting a bath.
In this same vein, more evidence that OWS has become the donkeys’ juvenile delinquent offspring that will keep on giving them indigestion:
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/12/charlotte-prepping-for-ows-at-dnc.html
Hey, rememmber the 1970 Hardhat Riot, when pissed-off, patriotic union guys beat the crap out of a bunch of antiwar hippies?:
An event worthy of pulling up a lawn chair and getting out the popcorn. It should be very entertaining.
Today’s unions exist for one purpose only: to increase their members income trough blackmail. They won’t turn out for the OWies unless they get paid their overtime rate. Soros will pay Acorn Community Organizers but draws the line at union unit rates.
The self-styled Occupanters meet the dictionary description of rabble: a disorganized mob. They were launched by and kept stirred up by professional rabble-rousers, paid, at a much lower scale the the ILWU, to “stir up emotions and prejudices.” It never was a genuine “movement” but a flagrantly obvious contrivance of Socialist propagandists with no objective beyond their beloved cliche -”Social Justice.” They knew they would be supported by complicit journOlists, the unionized police reluctant to actually apply effective control procedures, and a President who is unable to say a good word for protesters in Iran who are actually being killed. It has been much ado about nothing, as futile and as counter-effective as the French dumping tankloads of milk on the street or torching cars. I sincerely hope that the Capitalist Communist bully boys of the ILWU actually beat up student/workers who never go to school and are too busy being “Social Activists” to try to find a job. Let’s see who’s side BHOO takes ins this confrontation.
Mr. Williamson – not to be contrary about your opening thesis, but I’ve been involved in labour relations since the 80′s and it’s my impression that the unions exist solely for the promotion of themselves. Increasing the member’s pay is only one of the strategies they use to achieve their end of a bigger, more powerful and richer union. The workers they represent are mostly just grist for the mill of unionism.
Excellently put. The unions are self interest groups, no different than the greens, oil industry, agriculture industry, taxpayers, other businesses, etc. They are neither for the “working man” or the middle class, and use that self-description to promote themselves and gain sympathy. Unfortunately, they are the epitome of “crony capitalism”, supported by both political parties, but mainly by the Democrats, to buy their votes in exchange for favorable legislation and campaign contributions. A good recent example was the NLRB vs. Boeing. Boeing and non-union workers lost that one.
– to Ferry passed young woman on milk crate with megaphone. They were filming her yet she was not addressing anyone.
Perhaps they will run ads?
Do you think we will get a Christmas present of “No Occupy” anywhere?
The Commies and the SEIU are trying to revive the Occupooper movement. I think they’ll be paying various shills and goons to maintain a token presence in a few places through the end of the year.
I confess to schadenfreude at the prospect of a physical confrontation between longshoremen and the OWS, who I perceive as effete.
Not bad and far more entertaining than my idea of them sitting a small craft waving wands and banners when the bow crashes over the top of them.
I wouldn’t count on today’s longshoremen being the bruisers their grandfathers were. Remember, most of today’s workers use cranes, fork lifts, and other such devices to move heavy objects. There isn’t as much need for significant personal strength.
Really the OWS crowd has teamed up with the wrong Unions on this. Instead of shutting down ports with(out) the suppor of unionized blue collar longshoremen they should try to Occupy Government buildings. No doubt the SIEU would unlock the doors and allow them in and lock arms in the hallways with government workers who come alot closer to sharing thier view of dystopia.
The only problem with that scenario is that real progress might actually get done in the REAL world with the government offices not doing anything. Of course, they can’t allow that.
Govt workers will never allow OWS to interfere with their online porn time.
Remember, no matter what their supposed cause, the one thing that really unites the Left is a hatred of the Right and anything it identifies with. You know, Capitalism, honest work, a study of history free of sentimentality…
I loved this line….
..”Now that the roles are reversed, with the Longshoremen for the first time in their history battling against the wildcat strikers, next Monday may prove entertaining after all.”
The shoes are now on the other feet. They WILL cross the picket lines.
Hypocrisy alert.
admission.. I am a member of a private union, a steamfitter.
I know the difference between public and private unions.. I look at history and see the decline of private unions at the hands of public unions..
it makes me sick..
I tell other members, straight up, that public unions are the death of our prosperity.. I get zero come backs..
I am a union member, and a commie hunter.. people like me exist.. now I see that I am not alone FOR REAL..
DEATH TO OWS!!! Let them be crushed and ground into meal..
What is best in life?
To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you and to hear the lamentation of their women!
Grungy,
Your union is probably closer to a GUILD than a union. Your union at least provides some value (consistent and validated levels of training, certification, bonded/insured, etc) to the user. The person who needs a steamfitter has the CHOICE of using union (with the above putative benefits) and non-union labor.
The folks at the port (who are, in effect, government union members since the respective city councils run the ports on the West Coast) do NOT allow you to choose non-union. They do not add value to their services (although the claim to do so to justify their outrageous costs), they just provided the added expenses and a reduced level of service that will always result from a monopoly provider, be it the DMV or a union-run port terminal.
Also, it is beyond curious that there always seems to be a large number of members from the same family in those Unions, as if they have been preferentially chosen for hire for these plum jobs.
Which means that racial minorities can’t break in to the racket.
It’s not just racial minorities that can’t break in. I knew a guy 30 years ago who wanted to be an auto mechanic. He was told that since his father wasn’t in the trade and he didn’t have an uncle in the trade, he had no chance whatever of becoming an auto mechanic. And he was as white as they were!He simply didn’t have a family connection to grease the wheels for him.
I would love to see that term come back into use for unions like grungy’s. Most of the trade unions here in Texas do the same for their entirely voluntary members. The fact that these unions will help their members find jobs, instead of causing their members to lose jobs, makes for an even larger divergence.
I have much less antipathy towards private unions than towards public unions. Labor costs are reflected in the product or service that the private union provides and the purchaser can make a decision based on that. Public unions, in contrast, are supported by the taxpayers, by almost unlimited funding, without taxpayer input, are extremely political, usually voting for the party member that views them more favorably, generally Democrats.
Unions have a vested interest in seeing their own industry expand, so that more jobs in that industry will mean more members for that union.
For a private sector union, that’s not so bad. That fellow who said he’s a steamfitter, for example. America can always use more steamfitters, and a growing and prosperous industrial plant that needs more steamfitters is a good thing for America.
Public-employee unions have a vested interest in seeing the government expand, even at the expense of the private sector if need be. And that’s a real problem.
I would pay cash money to watch dockworkers beating up hippies.
Every single time a mouthpiece of Occupy begins to speak, I quickly question their sanity. I know that’s something that gets said a lot, but in my case it is not hyperbole.
What is wrong with these people? What is it within them that is so broken?
I don’t think this is the result of leftards capturing the Universities, though I’m sure that makes it worse. I think that these people are truly mentally ill.
This is going to be GREAT!!!! Soros will lose $$$ from an inability to short the markets (NO SHUT DOWNS) and the longshoremen and women WILL KICK THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF THESE KIDS AND PARASITES!!!! about freaking time.
I am going to be loving every video of this!!
yeah….:OCCUPY OAKLAND!!! SHUT THE PORTS!!!!! go for it, assclowns! can’t wait to see blood run in the streets this time – SURVIVOR OCCUPY – newest reality TV!
Commie union swine fed up with Commie OWS swine–I love it.
I vote for Epic Fizzle, myself.
OccuFizzle!
Dear Zombie, you really are one of the best contributors to PJ Media, I get a real kick out of reading your comments, and your photos are the best!
The real rub will come from Barack Obama. He has publicly told all of us that he is behind and supports the OWS from the get go. He is a true blue Union supporter as long as they provide him with votes and campaign cash. Question: Which side of the fence does Mr. “Vote Present” go on this one so he doesn’t make someone mad. What great traits to have in a leader of country………no balls! This my friends is what the liberal, left wing voters support…..a whimp with a big mouth and no action. Oh, I forgot “I killed bin Ladin”..yeah right! …and now the same drones that found out where bin Ladin was hiding is in Irans hands. Thanks alot!
“Epic Fizzle” gets my vote. (Catchy band name, that…!)
Literally.
Forecast is calling for rain on Monday, which should put a, er…”damp-er” on the fires of revolution!
“OWS felt (in its delusional little bubble, at least) that it was on the upswing, that America was joining them, that the revolution had arrived.”
Facilitated by the media, as I clearly remember the majority of the pieces on the radio and TV saying the movement was “growing”.
I have to confess to liking the win-win situation for the rest of us. I also am hoping for no violence but an out and out fizzle or non-event to occur. These poor deluded occupiers have been scammed by the liberals into believing that throwing a tantrum will yield great results. Maybe they will get a clue and vote the bums out next year – and the chief bum with them.
Now this would be entertainment worthy of Pay-Per-View . . . the noodle armed OccuPunks versus the ball bat, pool-cue wielding Union thugs. Should be lots of orphaned teeth scattered on the pavement, hair and blood on polished wood, steel-toed work boots getting buried in soft groins . . .
Yup, looking forward to the YouTube vids guaranteed to sprout in a few days.
Gotta say I agree about the outcome of the “fight.” I had the opportunity to work with some of these longshore guys a few years back and let me tell ya, stay the hell away. Union thug just about sums em up. I don’t know how many fights I saw on the docks where we worked but it was too many to count. I remember on guy broke the bosses nose before police escorts took him away; needless to say, he was fired. I remember this real nice guy named Bernie, real stand up guy. But other people took advantage of his niceness; they saw it as a weakness or something. I remember these three guys, I mean these guys were low lives, real pieces of work– cheated on their wives, gambled, drink heavily, the whole nine yards. So anyway this guy Bernie had a very attractive wife who would come down and bring him lunch every now and again. When those three thugs saw his wife they new they had to have her. So over the next three months each one of those guys had their turn. Turns out, as nice as she was, bernie’s wife got around town, if you know what I mean. So she screwed those three guys within three months and after all three of them had gotten it they bragged all day at work about it. I mean laughing and joking about it constantly. These men had eaten the food from Bernie’s house! And they would joke, it’s a shame bernie doesn’t know what his wife had in her mouth the other night. All that to say, it’s awful work. OWS doesn’t have a chance against those crass, burly brutes.