What the shipowners’ strike is really about – and why it matters

You may be familiar with the term “October Surprise”.

You may see cable news pundits and reporters use the term during presidential election years. Basically, it refers to a news event that has the potential to change the political calculus of a campaign — and potentially the election itself.

With the presidential election on November 5, any major news that happens (or leaks) in October could sway voters.

Well, it’s the first day of October… and we already have two surprises: Iran’s missile attack on Israel and the shipowners’ attack. In today’s 360 Squarewe are looking at the strike.

In short, the International Longshoremen’s Association had been negotiating with the US Maritime Alliance for a new labor contract. The union, which represents about 45,000 dock workers, was threatening its first major strike since 1977.

Well, at midnight on Tuesday, negotiations broke down and the strike officially began.

That’s a big deal, folks.

The farmers’ strike affects three dozen locations in 14 US ports from Maine to Texas, effectively preventing container shipping to and from our East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. A two-week strike would disrupt holiday sales, disrupt supply chains for medicine and other essential products, and create shortages of items such as alcohol, chocolate, fruit, vehicles and even parts vital to U.S. factories.

These ports handle about 50% of the goods shipped to and from the US. Thus, a protracted strike — one lasting weeks — would delay shipments and create shortages ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.

New York Port Liberty Terminal

If this strike persists, it will be incredibly disruptive to the US economy. It could even reignite inflation, which the Federal Reserve has been struggling to control for years.

And believe it or not, it has everything to do with artificial intelligence.

Let me explain that…

And one step you can take to avoid sharing the inevitable fate of the bastards.