Disclaimer - The following article is reposted here because it is an issue with some relevance to the IWW. The views of the author do not necessarily agree with those of the IWW and vice versa.
By Meredith Schafer and Chris Kutalik - Monthly Review, October 5, 2006
Millions of dollars worth of goods sat unmoved on the docks of the United States' largest port, Los Angeles/Long Beach, as port truckers, mostly Latino immigrants, struck on May 1. Despite being organized only informally in small networks, the truckers were able to use their position at a vital point in the economy to multiply their power.
Capital’s relentless search for cheap labor constantly alters the flow of surface transportation in North America with widespread consequences. The end-of-century deindustrialization of the United States and importation of cheap commodities from the Far East through the West Coast reversed historical east-west transportation patterns and established Los Angeles and Long Beach as the largest ports in the nation. To minimize transportation costs, which for many products are higher than the cost of production, intermodal transportation of containerized imports was developed. Manufactured goods are packed into mobile shipping containers at factories in the Far East and travel by ship, train, and truck to distribution centers and, ultimately, consumer outlets across the United States. Currently, intermodal transportation of cheap imported commodities is the lifeline of the American economy. In 2004, the Port of Los Angeles processed 7.3 million container units and Long Beach handled 5.8 million. These two ports alone accounted for 68 percent of the West Coast total and are, by far, the largest employers in California. U.S. workers, who have seen so many lucrative manufacturing jobs moved overseas, assumed that import transportation and distribution jobs could not be offshored and were, therefore, relatively secure.
An inevitable fare hike in the City’s public transportation system, San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI), is distressing the most vulnerable members of society: seniors, disabled, low-income residents and students. Bus fares will be going up from $1.25 to $1.50 this September. Along with higher fares, San Franciscans can expect service cuts to bus lines as well as a reduction in driver privileges and mass layoffs. The reason for these changes is to alleviate a $57 million deficit faced by MUNI. Several citizen groups opposing these measures are mobilizing to fight back. One such effort is a social strike planned to coincide with these fare hikes. 