During his "My Take," Tuesday, "Varney & Co." host Stuart Varney discussed the East and Gulf Coast ports strike by unionized workers that threatens food and supply delivery to parts of the country destroyed by Hurricane Helene.
STUART VARNEY: Nearly 50,000 port workers are on strike. They want a 77% wage increase, and no more automation.
If it lasts a week, fruit and vegetable supplies will start to dwindle. Longer than that and the whole economy takes a hit.
DOCKWORKERS GO ON STRIKE AT EAST AND GULF COAST PORTS
The president says he will not intervene.
Meanwhile, just a few miles from the East Coast ports, residents are struggling with the catastrophe known as Hurricane Helene.
They are very conscious of a crippling strike on their turf. The longshoremen are not going to get much public support.
They already make well into six-figure incomes. They are demanding wage hikes that would take many of them to $300,000 a year.
LONGSHOREMEN UNION'S DEMAND FOR TOTAL BAN ON AUTOMATION QUESTIONED AS PORT STRIKE LOOMS
Crane operators, closer to a half million. The residents of devastated North Carolina will not be happy if the supplies they need to recover are tied up in port.
President Biden is not looking good if the country suffers from a preventable strike. Presumably, Kamala Harris feels the same way.
She's not said what she would do if she were president.
Biden is going along with the interests of some very well-paid workers, and not the country as a whole.
The issue of automation is highly contentious. The union doesn't want it. Efficiency demands it. Again, Biden and the union stand opposed to making our ports competitive.
My guess is that the pressure mounts to the point where the president is forced to step in.
THE TAFT-HARTLEY ACT: WHY BIDEN COULD USE THIS LABOR LAW TO PREEMPT A PORT STRIKE
That's why we have the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows the president to bring strikes to an end when the whole country is harmed.
That is what's happening now. We're being held to ransom. Just ask the people of North Carolina what they think about six-figure guys holding up their recovery.
North Carolina is a very important state and Biden knows it.
