I do believe it is time to bring back the ultimate transport solution...Zeppelin airship , no more ports and canal fees...Just the import tax... No need for huge bulky shipping containers...Streamlining the air operation with keeping a steady supply to hungry Ewoks everywhere...

That comes with its own problems though.

We could pool our money and hire mercenaries to steal the containers we need, it's what robin hood would do.

robin hood wouldn't hire somebody, hed do it himself! people would hire him! Get your facts strait sir!

Bout to head back out to work...

Anyone want to PM their email address? I can send you the file and you can post it up here? So many things about the interwebz still mystify me...

Death to the Union! er Death to all Unions

All American unions I think you mean? The unions in my country aren't behaving as, what it looks like from over here, semi-organized crime. That is at least the image they have. Unions here are much more focused on getting the best for the workers without destroying the companies they work for.

American unions are fine. Without them 40 hour work weeks, vacation time, and weekends wouldn't exist.

This case is exactly why we need unions. Strangling the port is the only way for some people to get improved working conditions.

As much as I want my plastic crack, I can't advocate Union Busting. The only reason to break a union is to strongarm employees with a 'do it our way or starve' situation. Especially in the private sector, that's a losing proposition for the employees.

I may be biased because I work in education, and the only thing that keeps me off of food stamps is the tiny pay increases that the union manages to force through every 3 or 4 years, but even that gap is shrinking every year.

Maggy broke the unions over here years ago thank goodness, yet we still have shorter working weeks and better conditions than the Unions in the States are able to extort by their bully-boy tactics.

Death to the Union! er Death to all Unions

All American unions I think you mean? The unions in my country aren't behaving as, what it looks like from over here, semi-organized crime. That is at least the image they have. Unions here are much more focused on getting the best for the workers without destroying the companies they work for.

American unions are fine. Without them 40 hour work weeks, vacation time, and weekends wouldn't exist.

This case is exactly why we need unions. Strangling the port is the only way for some people to get improved working conditions.

I think you'll find weekends predate your country

Unions time has come and gone. They were created before Federal law addressed serious issues with child labor, working conditions, wages et al.

I grew up in Detroit and can't tell you how many stories I have heard of friends starting work in the auto industry and being admonished to slow down, that they were working too fast.

"What, don't like my 2 hour bathroom break? Talk to my union rep."

Murica in general needs better labor laws. Anyone care to guess the amount of vacation and paid holidays muricans get via law?

Murica in general needs better labor laws. Anyone care to guess the amount of vacation and paid holidays muricans get via law?

I'll take a stab, but I believe it's zero.

And I say zero because I don't believe there are any "protected" holidays per se... Companies obviously pay double time and what not when people work those days, however I do not think there are any mandatory "off" days protected by federal law.

Murica in general needs better labor laws. Anyone care to guess the amount of vacation and paid holidays muricans get via law?

I'll take a stab, but I believe it's zero.

That would be correct!

Guys, guys. Trade disputes? Really? Hasn't the Phantom Menace taught us anything?

Murica in general needs better labor laws. Anyone care to guess the amount of vacation and paid holidays muricans get via law?

I'll take a stab, but I believe it's zero.

That would be correct!

I think a lot of that however falls on the employee; as a worker you have to know and understand your "value". When I was 17 flipping burgers at McyDees I didn't expect two weeks paid vacation, benefits, anything really other than my $5 an hour. Why? Because I haven't earned it or paid my dues. Now, it's a completely different story... I know my value professionally and what I need comp package wise, vacation time, benefits, etc...

Unions serve their purpose for the most part; have they been corrupted? Of course they have, you can't look at one industry and not see evidence corruption to some degree. Does that mean we bust them all? No.

Right so they go to the East Coast?...So why do we care about the West Coast issues?

I derped for a moment. Established shipping lines run between China and ports in California, Washington, or (I guess?) Oregon, although as far as I know Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Seattle/Tacoma are the biggest shipping destinations.

The Boat is probably not coming through us here in Portland (OR). It seems we do much more on the export side than on the import side (4x as much). The same is true of Seattle/Tacoma, (WA) though not quite as unbalanced.

Los Angeles (& Long Beach) seems like the main import hub on the West Coast. San Francisco (Richmond & Oakland) get a fair bit of traffic too, though Oakland is also more exports than imports.

They should ship them to Canada and move them by rail and semi from there. I'm sure Canadians would love to pick up the lazy American port workers' slack.

Lazy American port workers? Where does this nonsense come from?

Maggy broke the unions over here years ago thank goodness, yet we still have shorter working weeks and better conditions than the Unions in the States are able to extort by their bully-boy tactics.

You have political interests making those things remain. America is incapable of having such political pressures. Without our few remaining unions we would be in a Randroid "utopia".

Unions time has come and gone. They were created before Federal law addressed serious issues with child labor, working conditions, wages et al.

I grew up in Detroit and can't tell you how many stories I have heard of friends starting work in the auto industry and being admonished to slow down, that they were working too fast.

"What, don't like my 2 hour bathroom break? Talk to my union rep."

Have you talked to anyone working in the service sector in 21st century America? Bathroom breaks are a luxury, knowing your schedule 3 weeks in advance is a dream, and if you are very lucky, you will actually get paid for every hour you work. The service sector is not unionized.

Making things more fun: the government generally would rather "keep business strong" than enforce labor laws. And you can no longer sue your employer when they do these awful things: as a condion of employment, workers agree to "arbitration", a system where your boss hires a judge to find out if your boss has done anything wrong.

Unions began going away in the 1970s, and the American middle class began shrinking at the same time. Having an individual trying to bargain against the collective power of a multi billion dollar company is a sick joke.

Los Angeles (& Long Beach) seems like the main import hub on the West Coast. San Francisco (Richmond & Oakland) get a fair bit of traffic too, though Oakland is also more exports than imports.

Fun Star Wars Fact: the giant cargo cranes at the port of Oakland were the visual inspiration for the AT-AT.

Ya know... the more I think about it, the whole union dock fiasco and it's affect on the miniature gaming world would make a great plot for a Big Bang Theory episode...

Or a hilarious road trip adventure movie about a few nerds just looking to get the next expansions of their favorite games. Massive cliches ensue.

Fanboys 2; I'm in, now we just need someone on the west coast with a seafaring vessel and a background in piracy

How about a background in anti-piracy operations?

The US is the only country in the world that still grants itself the legal authority to issue letters of marque. I'm not saying we should all go privateer or anything, but...

Maggy broke the unions over here years ago thank goodness, yet we still have shorter working weeks and better conditions than the Unions in the States are able to extort by their bully-boy tactics.

That's stupid. You're stupid.

Murica in general needs better labor laws. Anyone care to guess the amount of vacation and paid holidays muricans get via law?

About 50 days less than me.

Maggy broke the unions over here years ago thank goodness, yet we still have shorter working weeks and better conditions than the Unions in the States are able to extort by their bully-boy tactics.

That's stupid. You're stupid.

Murica in general needs better labor laws. Anyone care to guess the amount of vacation and paid holidays muricans get via law?

I'll take a stab, but I believe it's zero.

And I say zero because I don't believe there are any "protected" holidays per se... Companies obviously pay double time and what not when people work those days, however I do not think there are any mandatory "off" days protected by federal law.

Fun fact: Waiters do not get overtime (time and a half) when working on holidays. Nor do they get standard American federal minimum wage. Federal minimum for servers is $2.17/hr. This is why we tip servers 20%. It's their only source of income!

Maggy broke the unions over here years ago thank goodness, yet we still have shorter working weeks and better conditions than the Unions in the States are able to extort by their bully-boy tactics.

That's stupid. You're stupid.

Unfortunatly for you that's a fact old son. Maggy took the unions appart and saved Brittish industry in the process.

Just because it worked over on your side of the Atlantic does not mean it would work over here. The U.S. business culture is rather... unique. Unions have had to fight tooth and claw over a lot of really stupid things for a long time.

I do believe it is time to bring back the ultimate transport solution...Zeppelin airship , no more ports and canal fees...Just the import tax... No need for huge bulky shipping containers...Streamlining the air operation with keeping a steady supply to hungry Ewoks everywhere...

That comes with its own problems though.

I was gonna bring up Crimson Skies if you didn't. One of my favorite fictions.

Far-fetched air piracy aside, ever since that game came out, I've wondered why Zeppelins couldn't revolutionize the shipping industry. I know they come with a host of logistical challenges, but it doesn't seem that any are insurmountable.