If you are a dedicated Pax Romana reader, you know that I am a progressive. I am a liberal, and that fact often shines through in some of my writing *ahem* anything Donald Trump-related. This is not a political website, but my personal beliefs bleed through quite often. Despite my liberalism (but not populism), unions occasionally irk me. It may be because down here in the South, unions are completely foreign. If you tried to start a union in my furniture town, you would be laughed at and then shot. It may also be because unions can be, and let’s just be honest with each other, pretty ridiculous with their requests.

     The US port workers definitely fall into the latter category. Seeing that an election was coming up, and seeing their negotiating leverage rise, the International Longshoremen’s Association went on strike, demanding a 77% raise in salary over the next six years, up from the 50% that the ports had collectively offered.

     After two days, the strike has ended. The final raise in salary was 62%, which is a lot. This whole thing just feels like too much. Over a third of members already make over $200,000 a year, Harold Daggett (their leader/chief nutjob) makes $1 million a year off the union, and the unions wanted a complete ban on automation, which is so hilarious unrealistic, that I am shocked that anyone could ever take that request seriously. The rhetoric coming out was… a bit much. Old Harry threatened to “cripple” the US economy if his members did not receive their extreme salaries and if automation was not banned, which again, is completely ludicrous.

      And oh my lord, Harold is crazy. He is like Tony Soprano if Tony Soprano was an idiot. First, like I said, he makes $1 million a year. Second, he lives in a mansion on ten acres of property with five garages and a Bentley. He just sold his YACHT. Third, the federal government accused him of having Mafia ties. He was charged with racketeering in 2005, and a former Genovese crime family member testified under oath that Harold was a member of the family. One of Harold’s pals in his racketeering case disappeared during the trial and was found rotting in the trunk of a car in New Jersey. He even dresses like Tony Soprano (not a compliment). And his son, Harry picks up $700,000 a year from the union (totally not corrupt).

     All this falls against the backdrop of fellow unions. Shawn Fain, who is not an angel either, makes 1/5th of what Harold makes, despite being a clearly smarter man. Harold completely blew up the chances of getting the public on his side at all by blatantly threatening to hold the US economy hostage. YOU MORON.

     Also, fellas, going on strike, threatening to hold the American economy hostage, and making this fool your leader, just makes everybody: the public, the government, the ports, want to automate your life. Nobody wants to deal with this headache.

     This is just so short-sided, but I am glad it is over. In six years, I am not sure where this union will be. Hopefully, these actual blue-collar workers will pick a leader who is not a millionaire, who is not mobbed up, and who is not a miserable dullard.

     And this is where we get to the problem I have with unions sometimes. They are so predictably unpredictable. These easily manipulated, highly emotional people have elected a bad leader who would have held the US economy hostage had he not shot his own cause in the foot. I am sure that these jobs will be almost completely automated out of existence. The human in me says that this is bad, but the Harold Daggett hater in me says that they have walked into this fate.

     Okay, I know that was not the typical Pax Romana article. This one wasn’t even stock market-related, but I just had to get this off my chest. All my homies hate Harold Daggett.