Is this the October surprise?

"During the best of times, and far away from any election - this storm and this strike could be major issues. But right now? It is a bad surprise. Maybe even a bad October surprise. Stay tuned on this one. This story is far from over."  

Oh boy. Here we go again. This time it is the Longshoremen's strike, and it is a blow to the nation's solar plexus. And by the way - it is October 1st. Could this be the October surprise that seems to happen in every election? I don't know for sure, but right now, Biden and Harris are in a pickle over it. Oh - and so is the country which depends on open ports for smooth acting supply chains.

Here are some mitigating facts that I have heard on the news concerning this strike:

Item One - Longshoremen are the highest paid union in the country. Wages range from $88K/year to $300K/year (with overtime). Even with those astronomical wages, the union is asking for a 77% increase in pay. That would allow high end crane operators to make about a half million dollars a year (with overtime).

Item Two - Automation. The Longshoremen want none of it. One port has an automatic gate. That one gate has become the hill to die on for the union. They hate it and want no more like it.  The problem is to stay competitive and efficient; ports will need to automate much more than a gate. This could be a stickier issue than the wage issue is.

Item Three - Federal cooling off period. No thanks said the President. "I believe in the power of collective bargaining". So, Biden will not get involved. The problem is, once the ports shut down, soon many other things shut down as well (like, remember Covid?). Biden it seems, does not want to be bothered with this strike. Cuts into beach time up in Delaware.

Item Four - Have we forgotten about the aftermath of Hurrican Helene? Hello? We have fellow citizens who cannot even get a bottle of water right now. Plus, the S+R teams are still finding bodies. Is this the best time to have a nation crippling strike? This is not the time to be selfish.

Item Five - This is a storm issue, not a strike issue. Some of the mail in ballots as well as polling centers in the areas of the greatest storm damage might impact the election. What does all this mean? I have no idea, but it is probably not good, not good at all.

The news cycle for the rest of the month could be void of election politics and focusing on the dual problems of Helene aftermath and cleanup as well as the Longshoremen strike. During the best of times, and far away from any election - this storm and this strike could be major issues. But right now? It is a bad surprise. Maybe even a bad October surprise. Stay tuned on this one. This story is far from over.