Hello everyone you're listening to Civics 101 I'm Nick Capadiche

Hannah is out this week so today is a rare solo performance.

Now today is one of those episodes that's tied to something that happened last week

and it got pretty big and there was a threat that things could have gotten a lot

bigger. We're out here picketing for better wages and automation protection and we're willing to

stay out here as long as it takes to get what we want. I'll shut them down throughout the world to prove that we can beat them.

And big strikes like these, they usually get resolved one way or another, and then people forget

about it until the next time it comes up.

But as far as I can tell, it's probably going to keep coming up,

so this is a good thing to have in your civics pocket.

Today we are talking about the Taft Hartley Act.

So on October 4th, 2024, there was a continued massive strike of the International Longshoremen's Association.

This is a union with about 50,000 members.

These are the people who load and unload container ships, which is a crucial part of how we get all our

stuff, almost all our stuff. 90% of the world's goods are transported by sea, so if the goods don't get off the

container ship they don't get to our stores they don't get delivered on to our

stoop the union had two big demands, a wage increase and a commitment that the shipping companies

wouldn't automate many of their jobs.

These were the two big sticking points. And on the night of Thursday, October 4th, before things got

two bonkers, the union and the companies that represent the shipping lines came to an agreement. And the strike has paused, things are being negotiated and work can commence.

Whenever there's a big strike like this and neither side seems willing to budge,

there is inevitably a headline asking, and neither side seems willing to budge.

...