During his “My Take,” Monday, “Varney & Co.” host Stuart Varney discussed the imminent U.S. ports strike by union workers from Texas to Maine that reportedly will cause fruit and vegetable shortages, cost $4 to $5 billion a day, and may last for weeks.
STUART VARNEY: The ports strike is due to start tomorrow. President Biden says he will not intervene.
You will be hearing reports of shortages of fruit and vegetables and gift items for the holiday season.
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This strike, if it goes on for days or weeks, is going to be costly. $4 to $5 billion a day, according to Wall Street.
Let’s dig deeper into this. The strike is about union power when a very pro-union president is in the White House.
Biden walked the picket line when the autoworkers went on strike. They won big.
The dockworkers are hoping for Biden’s support too, and they are getting it, because Biden won’t intervene.
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There’s a political risk for the president here. He came into office promising supply chain reform. With a port strike, that goes out the window.
Look deeper still, and you’ll see that automation is a key issue.
The dockworkers resist the injection of computing power to the cranes and loading facilities because it would likely cost jobs.
They want a big wage increase, but underlying that demand is a fear of A.I. Again, political risk for Biden.
He wants America to be a technological leader, but he can’t do that if our ports are locked out of new tech.
It’s no surprise that ports in China are more efficient.
Then there is the timing. The election is 5 weeks from tomorrow, the day the strike is supposed to start.
The last thing this administration wants to see is a sudden burst of inflation and shortages because the president refuses to intervene with a powerful union that actively fights change.
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