is social unrest is brewing in your back yard?

[iusmc2002]

The OP asked if this was brewing social unrest. I believe it is not. I think the term "social unrest" means a broader and more general level of unhappiness among the overall population that erupts or threatens to erupt into violence. This is a local labor dispute. I don't care about it, the issues, or the outcome. I don't care that they are in a dispute and don't care what happens on their workplace property. I don't have a dog in the fight. However, if any of them think they have a right to move it to the streets where they threaten me or mine, I will meet and raise their violence.

I think you are wrong about this. I base that supposition on speaking with a patient of mine. He was a Longshoreman, retired from them with a healthy pension. He thinks they are a bunch of punks in this current situation. BUT, he also said that when you mess with one LS, you mess with them all. Apparently, sometime in the not too distant past, the whole West Coast was essentially shut down when the ILWU went on strike to protest a perceived wrong to a single Local unit. What do you think would happen if that happened again? Can you imagine what THAT would do to the price of EVERYTHING we as consumers use? In this current economic crisis, I think that may very well be a tipping point. ILWU have already staged Wildcat strikes in Tacoma. Think you don't have a dog in this fight? I believe you're very wrong.

 

[The Quiet Man]

I think you are wrong about this. I base that supposition on speaking with a patient of mine. He was a Longshoreman, retired from them with a healthy pension. He thinks they are a bunch of punks in this current situation. BUT, he also said that when you mess with one LS, you mess with them all. Apparently, sometime in the not too distant past, the whole West Coast was essentially shut down when the ILWU went on strike to protest a perceived wrong to a single Local unit. What do you think would happen if that happened again? Can you imagine what THAT would do to the price of EVERYTHING we as consumers use? In this current economic crisis, I think that may very well be a tipping point. ILWU have already staged Wildcat strikes in Tacoma. Think you don't have a dog in this fight? I believe you're very wrong.

Good points that are interesting to think through. A west coast port shutdown would certainly be a huge blow and could induce widespread civil unrest. My comments are not directly related to the dispute taking place right now but are meant in a broader sense.

I would be in complete agreement if there was full employment, a stable economy, high corporate earnings, and significant and broad sympathy for aggressive labor union activity due to obvious labor abuse. I wonder if that is the case right now. Retired guys like to talk about how tough their former organizations were when they were young. I know because I am an old guy.

But how much sympathy would the general population feel for strikers when so many are out of work and understand that corporations are not making huge profits right now. I suppose some who read this will take great offense to the statement about corporations not making huge profits right now because some think any corporate profit is somehow anti-labor. I won't convince any who think that way but I think most people understand that many corporations are struggling right now too. It hasn't always been the case and won't always be the case.

Then I wonder how long it would take before the federal government stepped in with an argument that national security would be threatened by a widespread strike. I don't really know the answer to that, but I question the support of the general population and the tolerance of the government if such an event happened right now. There have been times when these types of labor activities have been generally tolerated and even supported by the general population, and likely will be again when our economy recovers and most people who want to work have a paycheck. I'm just questioning how that would play out today. I don't think such activity would be well received or accepted by society or the government.

Could that lead us down the path to general civil unrest, riots, etc.? Yes, unless it was stopped quickly by force... and that could happen too. I'm back to where I started. I don't care what they do on their yard. I will care when it spills into the streets.

 

[Burt Gummer]

I was recently at a limited income housing project and judging from the residents it will be a living **** in there when SHTF.

 

[apd193]

I just read a book by James Wesley Rawles, Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse. It was a fantastic read!

 

[Grunwald]

I think you are wrong about this. I base that supposition on speaking with a patient of mine. He was a Longshoreman, retired from them with a healthy pension. He thinks they are a bunch of punks in this current situation. BUT, he also said that when you mess with one LS, you mess with them all. Apparently, sometime in the not too distant past, the whole West Coast was essentially shut down when the ILWU went on strike to protest a perceived wrong to a single Local unit. What do you think would happen if that happened again? Can you imagine what THAT would do to the price of EVERYTHING we as consumers use? In this current economic crisis, I think that may very well be a tipping point. ILWU have already staged Wildcat strikes in Tacoma. Think you don't have a dog in this fight? I believe you're very wrong.

So what we have is the union going on strike against businesses that did not "offend" them in any way, just to apply pressure against one business that did. If that is not criminal than there is something wrong with our system.
If I was a CEO of a company that was shut down by a sympathy strike I would fire them all instantly. I seriously doubt that they could prevail in court.