Local grocery stores say no need to panic-buy
(CNS): The dockworkers’ strike in the United States at ports along the US East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, which began on Tuesday, will have no immediate effect on grocery supplies coming into the Cayman Islands, according to a joint release from local supermarkets. A release from the Ministry of Tourism and Ports said the two major shipping lines that operate ships between the US and Cayman say that importation of goods is not expected to be impacted at this time as they are not union-affiliated entities.
The Port Authority of the Cayman Islands is actively working with both companies and monitoring the situation, the ministry said, adding that PACI will provide updates if there are any changes or further implications for the Cayman Islands.
A statement issued Tuesday evening by Foster’s and Priced Right in solidarity with Cost-U-Less, Hurley’s and Kirks said the supply chain remains fully operational. The stores noted that the ongoing strike is happening at unionised ports, whereas the two primary ports that they rely on are non-unionised and continue to function at full capacity. This ensures there will be no immediate disruption to their operations.
“Only shipments passing through unionized ports are experiencing delays, and we have no reason to anticipate a significant impact on our ability to stock and supply goods,” the release said. “Our on-island inventory is fully stocked, and we have built-in redundancies within our supply chain to safeguard against potential disruptions. This approach, part of our regular logistics planning, also helps mitigate risks from external factors such as hurricanes.”
Nevertheless, although local stores are not directly affected by the strike, store owners are closely monitoring the situation to ensure they can continue to provide the products and services that residents depend on.
“We remain committed to maintaining the stability and reliability of our supply chain during this period and will take all necessary steps to keep our shelves fully stocked. Our top priority is serving our community. We appreciate your trust and will continue to uphold our promise of uninterrupted service, even during challenging circumstances,” the release said.
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Does anyone here know about “Ring Theory?” I think it applies in this situation.
Even though shipments to Cayman are not sent from unionized facilities the goods entering the US and sent on to Cayman are. There will be shortages.
collusive monopolism is illegal in civilized countries! lol
It’s okay, none of us can afford to panic-buy anymore.
correction, ‘Imported’
The only ripple slowdown effect on inported goods is that Medieval aged crane that’s broken down on the Port leaving unloading capacity at 50%, Maybe our fine Government and Minister of ports can stop wasting public funds on absolute crap and spend where is necessary for the last 20 years or so.
Bananas will be the biggest issue. Buy as many bananas as you possibly can now.
So our final products eg the beloved toilet paper are shipped from non- union ports. However, how and which ports do the raw materials enter the US to make these final products that are shipped to us? Do you know? If so, will those products still be in short supply?
A question for the reassuring grocers
Here goes the toilet rolls war!
LOLOLOL
can their prices get any higher? lol
yep…just wait till they increase minimum wage….
Great news, but solidarity with the union workers fighting for more pay and job protection from automation!
Aren’t unions illegal in Cayman? Not that that is relevant to a US strike, but if you want to promote unions perhaps you should start a little closer to home.
If automation explains why crane operators who earn 300k per year are seeking a 70%+ increase to their salary then they should probably just hand over the keys to the Robot now.
you do know all someone have to do is a quick google search to see that you’re a lying POS right? the average crane worker makes nothing close to that.
I found this online:
The current top wage amounts to about $81,000 per year, but according to a Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor report about a third of local longshoremen made $200,000 or more a year.
Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/10/02/port-strike-dockworkers-wages/75485424007/
The union are blackmailing morons, and they deserve only contempt. See the blog of Noah Smith (respected US economist):
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/make-work-is-not-the-future-of-work
“Usually we think of strikes as being about higher wages, and maybe about better working conditions. The ILA’s wage demands are actually pretty close to being met. But the union is also demanding a complete ban on automation at the ports it controls. In fact, port automation is already heavily discouraged, both by the ILA’s existing contract, and by Department of Transportation Rules that stipulate that automation is never allowed to reduce the number or quality of jobs. But now the ILA wants to ban automation completely.
First of all, the work that the ILA wants to preserve from automation is difficult and dangerous. Pro-union people describe the work as “backbreaking”, and Daggett tells horror stories of longshoremen’s death from Covid due to the need to work through the pandemic. While I absolutely agree that these working conditions are deplorable, it seems like the easiest way to reduce the toil and risk associated with dock work is to use more machines. A video has been circulating of “virtual longshoremen” at a Chinese port, controlling cargo by remotely operating machinery from a desk. That seems a lot nicer than breaking your back, and yet it’s exactly the kind of thing the ILA is fighting to prevent.
Also, the ILA is thinking only about one potential effect of automation — the replacement of human labor with machines. They’re neglecting the possibility that automation will raise capacity at America’s ports. The port of New York and New Jersey — the busiest port on the East Coast — moved 7.8 million TEU of cargo last year. The Port of Shanghai moved 49 million TEU that same year. In fact, the Port of Shanghai moves more cargo than every single port in the United States, combined.
All else equal, moving more cargo means more jobs for longshoremen. If automation boosts the number of containers that move through a port, that can outweigh the reduction in demand for labor per container. For example…
Training longshoremen to use new automated port technology will raise their productivity. will allow unions like the ILA to extract higher wages from their employers. In fact, Dean Baker argues that the ILWU — the West Coast longshoremen’s union — has done something very much like this, and enjoys higher wages than their East Coast counterparts as a result.
In other words, the future of work isn’t make-work — it’s higher-skilled work.”
It’s a long post and it’s paywalled, but it’s worth subscribing to the blog. In short, the union here (as is typically the case) is economically illiterate. This is how US car firms lost out to Japanese firms decades ago – lobotomised protectionism.
For another critique, see https://www.cremieux.xyz/p/just-pay-them-off
“What We Have and What We’re Missing
America has terrible ports. This isn’t a judgment that’s based on a counterfactual where America tops the leaderboard and it should be better, this is a judgment that’s based on comparisons with existing ports in countries like Saudi Arabia, China, Qatar, Japan, and even backwaters like Tanzania and the Congo. America objectively has terrible ports. The reason America’s ports lag behind the rest of the developed and so much of the developing world so decisively is, in a word, unions. Nothing else is quite so key to America’s failure to automate its ports. What America misses out on because of those unions is nothing short of stunning.
The video below is basically Chinese propaganda, but not lies; what it portrays is bragging, bragging about the reality that China has automated ports and America mostly does not…”
This one is an enemy of humanity and a shill for profits.
A true capitalist who values profits over humanity.
prices will go no doubt
The moment you say no need to panic buy, is also the moment people start panic buying.
hysterical women will panic buy anyway. bring in limits on number of items that can be bought.
Sounds like you would really like it in Cuba. One pack of frozen chicken feet for you. And no more.
you sound like a woman who likes to panic buy.
What kind of sexist foolishness is this?!?! Women will panic buy??! So every time there have been runs on the supermarkets due to impending disaster you only saw women in them shopping??! Idiot!
..’impending disaster’… huh?
truth hurts for some. i’ll buy you some flowers…
well said!…some ‘men’ can sometimes be as hysterical as the average lady….occasionally…
**Warning, Feminist Trigger**
Warning, moron alert