Longshoremen shut down the Port of New York and New Jersey and Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia Tuesday to protest Del Monte Fresh Produce Co.’s move from Camden to a cheaper-labor terminal in Gloucester City.
Pickets by members of the International Longshoremen’s Association forced work stoppages at four ocean terminals in Port Elizabeth, Newark, and Bayonne, N.J. and Staten Island, N.Y., idling 12 ships and costing each carrier about $50,000 a day, said the New York Shipping Association.
“We haven’t had anything like this is over 25 years,” said spokeswoman Beverly Fedorko. “Think about the ripple effect, the trucks, and all the other companies that depend on the port for their livelihood, and the 270,000 employees. It’s quite an economic reach.”
Port officials expected facilities to reopen Wednesday, Fedorko said. Continue Reading »
Met author/cartoonist Ted Rall for drinks tonight before he did a reading for his new book, “The Anti-American Manifesto.” (You know, the one in which he calls for a revolution? I guess I’m going back on that FISA wiretap list!)
Anyway, we’re fans of each other’s work, he’s a really nice guy and it was fun to sit and dish. (We talked about Afghanistan, Obama, Martha Stewart and class war.) I’ll let you know what I think of the book once I’m done reading it.
I wonder if all those California conservatives are still blathering that there’s no global warning? I remember when I was out there a few years ago, it was hitting 102 and everyone was complaining about how bad it was.
