Workers on the set of “The Gun on Second Street,” a film that had Sean Penn and California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell listed as executive producers, walked off in protest while attempting to negotiate a union contract.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) claimed that a “majority” of the crew, about 40 people, left the set in West Virginia, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/crew-strike-movie-sean-penn-eric-swalwell-1236454289/">per</a> The Hollywood Reporter. IATSE reported that the striking crew members were seeking set wages, health benefits, and pensions, but had, up to that point, “been misclassified as 1099 independent contractors rather than employees.”
“Every production, regardless of budget or political connections, must respect the rights of the people who make film and television possible,” IATSE international president Matthew Loeb said. “The Alliance is prepared to support this crew as they take collective action to secure safe working conditions, fair compensation, proper classification and a voice on the job.”
The move apparently <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/crew-strike-movie-sean-penn-eric-swalwell-1236454289/">prompted</a> Penn’s Projected Picture Works and its partners to remove their names from the film.
The film’s producers released a statement disputing these allegations. “We have compensated our production crew well for their time,” the producers said. “However, we will not attempt to resolve our differences with the union through the press. Therefore, we have no further comment.”
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Swalwell added in a statement that he had no involvement in the business decisions, THR noted, and threatened to remove his name from the project. 
“I am a lifelong supporter of labor,” the congressman added. “While I am prohibited by Congressional ethics rules from participating in the negotiations between production and labor, I joined the film expecting labor standards would be adhered to. I urge the production team to seek a fair outcome for the crew. Should that not be achieved, I will remove my name from the film’s screen credits.”
“The Gun on Second Street” is being pitched as “an allegory of the gun crisis in the United States.” The film, written and directed by Rohit Karn Batra (“Line of Descent”), follows two police officers in Pittsburgh. Drama ensues when one of them accidentally kills the other while responding to a domestic violence call. He leaves the force, only to fall in love with his deceased partner’s widow years later.

Penn and Swalwell

Crew Walks Off Set Of Anti-Gun Film Backed By Sean Penn And Eric Swalwell

Crew Walks Off Set of Anti-Gun Film Backed by Eric Swalwell, Sean Penn

Entertainment

Eric Swalwell

Movies

Sean Penn

strike

Protests erupted in China late last month after factories were shut down due to President Donald Trump&#8217;s 145% tariff on the country.
Factory workers took to the streets in Suining, a city in the eastern Sichuan province, demanding back pay and claiming that the electronics factory where they work has not paid them since the beginning of the year, according to <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2025/04/29/china-us-tariff-protests-workers-wages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radio Free Asia</a>. Hundreds of workers at Guangxin Sports Goods in the Hunan Province also went on strike after the factory was closed. The company reportedly did not pay the workers their wages or Social Security benefits before shuttering the factory. Meanwhile, construction workers in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of northern China, threatened to jump off a building if they were not paid their overdue wages, the outlet reported.
Chinese manufacturing is struggling as the country&#8217;s government pushes back on Trump&#8217;s tariff. According to China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, new orders for export were at their lowest level since the COVID pandemic, and manufacturing jobs were at their lowest level since February 2024, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/business/china-pmi-factory-manufacturing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the concerning decline was due to “sharp changes in the external environment,” adding that there are &#8220;no winners in trade wars,&#8221; according to the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3f81cec8-6d0c-4a11-97d3-2cbe78a5e284" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Financial Times</a>.
Goldman Sachs estimates that around 16 million jobs in many Chinese industries are at risk due to Trump&#8217;s tariff, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/05/06/world-news/protests-erupt-in-china-as-trumps-steep-tariffs-bite-extremely-anxious/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. China quietly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-feels-the-pain-exempts-40-billion-worth-of-u-s-imports-from-tariffs?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=China+Feels+The+Pain%2C+Exempts+%2440+Billion+Worth+Of+U.S.+Imports+From+Tariffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> to help ease the pain of the tariff on its economy last week, exempting around $40 billion worth of U.S. imports from its 125% retaliatory tariff on American goods.
While Trump and his administration officials continue to say they are speaking to the Chinese government behind the scenes, there has still been no formal meeting for trade talks between the two countries. The president <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/trump-tariffs-live-updates-trump-hints-at-pharma-duties-no-plans-to-talk-to-chinas-xi-191201388.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> NBC’s &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; over the weekend that he would &#8220;lower&#8221; the tariff on China &#8220;at some point,&#8221; adding that &#8220;they want to do business very much.&#8221;
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that the trade war is “not sustainable on the Chinese side” and the Chinese economy is already &#8220;slowing down substantially.” Bessent suggested that the communist government would soon give in to trade talks.
China’s Commerce Ministry <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/world/asia/china-us-tariffs-talks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that it is &#8220;evaluating&#8221; the United States&#8217; offer to sit down for negotiations, but added that the country will only engage if the Trump administration ends its tariff on Chinese goods.

China

Trump’s Tariff Sparks Protests In China As Factories Shutter Amid Trade War

Communist China

Donald Trump

Economy

Protests

Tariffs

Trade War

World

New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday fired thousands of officers for continuing to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hochul-presser-spirals-with-arrest-threats-for-striking-officers-catch-every-single-one-of-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strike</a> over unsafe work conditions, including complaints about days-long shifts and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-leaked-footage-shows-how-violent-ny-prisons-have-become-since-dems-halt-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased violence</a> sparked by the implementation of the Democrat-backed Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act.
Hochul terminated some 2,000 officers on Monday for not returning to work following the governor claiming she struck a deal with officers on March 6. Most striking officers, though, refused that deal, and their government-affiliated union, the New York Correction Officers&#8217; Benevolent Association (NYCOBA), said Hochul cut them out of negotiations and only worked with the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).
The March 6 deal, which included a 90-day suspension of the HALT Act and a commitment toward cutting days-long shifts, was largely rejected by the rank and file, with about 8,000 officers continuing to strike last week. In response, Hochul terminated health insurance coverage for more than 5,000 officers and their dependents. This sparked reports of children, pregnant wives, and a mother battling cancer without treatment.
Officers told The Daily Wire that this was why some men and women went back to work; they hated the &#8220;deal&#8221; but decided to risk their own safety and return to the prisons because they couldn&#8217;t afford the health care termination.
Notably, the deal struck on March 6 needed 85% of those on strike to return to work by Monday for it to go into effect and end the strike. DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello admitted on Monday that this threshold was not met, with thousands still on strike. He deemed the strike &#8220;over,&#8221; anyway.
“We are committed to building a dedicated, resilient workforce and attracting the next generation of correctional leaders,” Martuscello said. “We will work to ensure the new department will be safer and more effective for everyone involved.”
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Hochul has had to summon the National Guard to work in dozens of New York prisons during the strike, and thousands of members will have to continue to help since the already-understaffed prisons have been cut by another 2,000 workers.
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&#8220;The New York state Department of Corrections fired 2,000 officers yesterday, and was already down 2,000 officers,&#8221; journalist and radio host Bob Lonsberry posted Tuesday morning. &#8220;The last academy class graduated 57 officers and was held in July 2024.&#8221;
&#8220;They will have to graduate 35 academies to replace the 2,000 just fired,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Though the average is two academies a year, if they run the 8-week academy continuously, they can do six academies a year, meaning they can catch up to their dramatically understaffed level of a month ago in six years.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_889653" style="width: 1184px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-889653" class="wp-image-889653 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-11-at-6.52.12-AM.png" alt="" width="1174" height="554" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-11-at-6.52.12-AM.png 1174w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-11-at-6.52.12-AM-300x142.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-11-at-6.52.12-AM-1024x483.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-11-at-6.52.12-AM-768x362.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1174px) 100vw, 1174px" />Screenshot: Bob Lonsberry on X</div>
NY Rep. <a href="https://x.com/lawler4ny/status/1899275409595719711">Mike Lawler</a> (R) criticized Hochul for the move on X, calling it &#8220;a total failure of leadership.&#8221;
&#8220;Gov. Hochul,⁩ who continues to use taxpayer money to provide free housing, clothing, food, education, and healthcare to illegal immigrants, just fired over 2,000 Corrections Officers and took away their healthcare,&#8221; he posted. 
Another NY representative, Nick Langworthy, <a href="https://x.com/RepLangworthy/status/1898131040830734456" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor into Hochul&#8217;s &#8220;harmful labor practices against New York State corrections officers.&#8221;
&#8220;I am calling for a federal investigation by the Department of Labor into Governor Hochul’s harmful labor practices against New York State corrections officers, relating to the suspension of health insurance benefits and excessive mandatory overtime for corrections officers,&#8221; the congressman said. &#8220;I will not stand by while corrections officers are being denied a right to reasonable working conditions and policies to keep them safe.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woman-cant-get-chemo-after-hochul-cuts-health-insurance-for-correctional-officers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Woman Can’t Get Chemo After Hochul Cuts Health Insurance For Correctional Officers</a>

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul

‘Total Failure Of Leadership’: Hochul Fires Thousands Of Corrections Officers Striking For Safety

Hochul Fires Thousands Of Corrections Officers Striking Over Unsafe Conditions

General

Kathy Hochul

New York

Politics

Prisons

The wife of a correctional officer in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-leaked-footage-shows-how-violent-ny-prisons-have-become-since-dems-halt-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York</a> was not able to get her chemo treatment for a rare terminal illness last week after Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul terminated the health insurance coverage for thousands of officers and their dependents over the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-corrections-officers-strike-in-ny" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ongoing strike</a>.
Hochul has terminated health care for thousands of officers and sergeants so far, though, notably, the Attica Correctional Facility officer whose wife needs chemo was out on family and medical leave (FMLA) to take care of his family following the diagnosis, News10NBC&#8217;s Jennifer Lewke <a href="https://www.whec.com/top-news/news10nbc-investigates-corrections-officer-with-fmla-has-health-insurance-canceled-amid-strike-leaving-wife-without-chemo-treatment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
“I get IV infusion therapy in the home a couple of days a month, I also have to get chemo, I’m also on several different daily medications,” the woman, only going by Rachel, said.
News10NBC noted that other officers who were off on pre-approved leave said their health insurance was terminated, too. The Daily Wire has heard from numerous officers who are on strike and have indicated that they can&#8217;t afford to lose their health care for various reasons, including pregnancy.
Officers have said at the outset of the strike that they want a repeal of the Democrat-backed HALT Act, which took effect in 2022. They also don&#8217;t want to work mandated shifts that are sometimes 72 hours long, which they say increases safety risks.
A source, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution, told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-leaked-footage-shows-how-violent-ny-prisons-have-become-since-dems-halt-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> that the strike is “not about the money,” but about how the “liberal agenda has destroyed our justice system.” They said the HALT Act has made it basically impossible for officers to discipline routine problems inside prisons, putting safety at risk for everyone, including inmates.
Hochul, however, has acted increasingly hostile toward officers. Last week, she started firing officers and terminating health insurance coverage for officers and their dependents retroactively, meaning they’re on the hook for covering health care costs since the strike started, which was February 17.
The governor has also threatened to arrest officers, and said she&#8217;s started proceedings to do just that for hundreds already. 
“They created very unsafe circumstances,&#8221; Hochul <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/ny-prison-guard-strike-update-serious-consequences-hochul-warning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> on Tuesday. &#8220;We warned them day after day after day that you’re gonna lose your healthcare, the health care is gone; that people are gonna be arrested, you could be going to jail. You’ve lost your job, you’ve lost your income, you’ve lost everything.”
The governor has mobilized 7,000 national guard members, with thousands currently working in the prisons. Numerous national guard members have leaked photos to the press of the cramped and squalid conditions they’ve been subjected to.
Additionally, controversy is starting to brew as the number of deaths inside these prisons start to rack up. Since the strike started, at least <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/nyregion/ny-prison-strike-guards.html">seven</a> people have died; one death has been deemed a suicide and at least one other is under investigation.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-leaked-footage-shows-how-violent-ny-prisons-have-become-since-dems-halt-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Footage Reveals How Violent NY Prisons Have Become Since Dems Passed HALT Act</a>

NY Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks At MTA Board Meeting

Woman Can’t Get Chemo After Hochul Cuts Health Insurance For Correctional Officers

Prison

U.S.

New York Democrat Gov. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-corrections-officers-strike-in-ny" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kathy</a> Hochul on Tuesday repeatedly attacked corrections officers across the state for striking over unsafe work conditions and long mandated shifts that officers say can last numerous days at a time.
About 15,000 corrections officers statewide are on strike and protesting over their concerns about safety being ignored for too long, officers say. Specifically, officers have cited Democrat-backed legislation, such as the HALT Act, and the closing of numerous prisons, for creating an unsafe work environment. 
Speaking to the press about the escalating strike, Hochul confirmed that she&#8217;s taking legal moves to have striking officers arrested.
&#8220;Has anyone been arrested?&#8221; a reporter <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0GUYp9sfg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> the governor, to which she responded, &#8220;The proceedings have started. I think we have 380 people on the first list through the attorney general’s office and they’re being served by state police as we speak. This is in violation of law.”  
Hochul suggested that she had state troopers serve papers with the threat of arrest to striking officers as a scare tactic, but since they didn&#8217;t back down, she&#8217;d continue down the path to having these officers arrested &#8220;in batches.&#8221;
The governor brought up Marcos Gonzalez Soler, who serves as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, for more details on the legal proceedings. He suggested all 15,000 would be addressed legally if need be.
“We will go to catch every single one of them until they’ve returned to work,&#8221; Gonzalez Soler told the media.
Hochul further claimed that officers are the ones creating safety issues and repeatedly said that she doesn&#8217;t know what striking officers want.
The work stoppage started on February 17, with officers from <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/17/us-news/2-ny-prisons-thrown-into-chaos-as-corrections-officers-launch-illegal-strike-after-violent-uprising/">two New York prisons</a> striking over unsafe conditions. The movement quickly swelled in support, and now nine out of ten officers across 38 of the state’s 42 prisons are participating. 
The strike has not been sanctioned by the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), which is the government-affiliated union for corrections officers, making this a “wildcat strike.” Hochul has repeatedly called the strike “illegal,” citing violation of the Taylor Law. 
The strike was sparked just days after officials locked down the Collins Correctional Facility in Erie County due to an inmate uprising, and a <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/pamela-helming/statement-senator-helming-doccs-staffing?utm_source=chatgpt.com">memo</a> was circulated by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), with Commissioner Dan Martuscello <a href="https://www.wwnytv.com/2025/02/13/memo-70-staffing-ny-prisons-is-new-100/">writing</a> that &#8220;70% of our original staffing model is the new 100%&#8221; and to “identify where we can eliminate and/or realign posts and associated duties.” The DOCCS has since said that the posts referenced in the memo would mainly apply to “vacant positions.”
The governor has deployed 6,500 National Guard members to run the prisons and is working to consolidate inmates due to the lack of coverage. Hochul has ordered the state to stop paying for health insurance for those on strike, and the DOCCS is docking two days of pay for every day an officer remains on strike. 
Mediation between the two sides began on Monday, with a reported offer from the state for two times the hourly rate for overtime, the nixing of that controversial staff-reduction memo, and suspension of certain provisions in the HALT Act. However, the New York State Senate <a href="https://www.mynbc5.com/article/new-york-senate-blocks-halt-act-repeal/63913462">blocked</a> a proposal to repeal the HALT Act on Tuesday.
Officers, though, reportedly want more guarantees for safety and are skeptical of promised concessions due to Hochul’s comments and actions. 
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-corrections-officers-strike-in-ny" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Everything You Need To Know About The Corrections Officers Strike In NY</a>

New York Governor Calls On Google And Meta To Stop Promoting Illicit Marijuana Shops

Hochul Presser Spirals With Arrest Threats For Striking Officers: ‘Catch Every Single One Of Them’

New York corrections officers and sergeants statewide have entered their second week of protesting and striking over unsafe working conditions, which they say have been caused by Democrat prison reform legislation and an unresponsive governor.
Here&#8217;s everything you need to know about the escalating conflict.
When the strike started and what sparked it
The strike started on February 17, with officers from <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/17/us-news/2-ny-prisons-thrown-into-chaos-as-corrections-officers-launch-illegal-strike-after-violent-uprising/">two New York prisons</a> striking over unsafe conditions. The movement swelled in support, and now thousands of officers and sergeants from <a href="https://13wham.com/news/local/corrections-officers-strike-enters-second-week-amid-state-mediation-efforts-prison-new-york-state-protest#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">38 of the state&#8217;s 42 prisons</a> are participating in the strike. 
Notably, the strike has not been sanctioned by the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), which is the government-affiliated union for correction officers, making this a &#8220;wildcat strike.” The union, though, is currently working to <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/correction-officers-stage-unsanctioned-strike-two-20171711.php?utm_source=chatgpt.com">negotiate</a> with the state for officers. 
As for the timing of the strike, officers say it’s a long-overdue reaction to Democrat-backed prison reform legislation and Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul and her predecessor, Democrat Andrew Cuomo, ignoring their complaints about safety and mandated work shifts that can sometimes <a href="https://stefanik.house.gov/2025/2/statement-on-correctional-officers-facing-grave-danger-at-new-york-state-prisons?utm_source=chatgpt.com">exceed 48 hours at a time</a>, <a href="https://stefanik.house.gov/2025/2/statement-on-correctional-officers-facing-grave-danger-at-new-york-state-prisons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to <a href="https://13wham.com/news/local/correctional-officer-speaks-out-following-a-77-hour-work-week-during-a-lockdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">officers</a>. 
Additionally, days before the strike, officials locked down the Collins Correctional Facility in Erie County due to an inmate uprising. There was also a <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/pamela-helming/statement-senator-helming-doccs-staffing?utm_source=chatgpt.com">memo</a> circulated by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) advising prison superintendents &#8220;that 70% of DOCCS’ original staffing model is the new 100%.” DOCCS has since claimed that the memo was partly referencing &#8220;vacant positions.&#8221; 
What the striking officers are demanding
First and foremost, officers want prison reform legislation called the &#8220;Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement&#8221; Act, or the HALT Act, repealed. The legislation went into effect in 2022 and mandates what proponents say are “more humane alternatives” to solitary confinement, while also limiting which inmates can be placed in solitary at all. 
Officers and their supporters say the legislation hasn&#8217;t worked; it’s made prisons less safe for inmates, officers, and others who work in prisons, including maintenance, nurses, and social workers. They’ve <a href="https://x.com/WillABarclay/status/1893032059087548897">cited</a> DOCCS stats, saying that since the HALT ACT was implemented, there’s been a 169% increase in inmate-on-inmate assaults, a 76% rise in inmate-on-staff assaults, and a 32% bump in contraband cases.
Currently, parts of the HALT Act are <a href="https://www.corrections1.com/officer-safety/n-y-suspends-parts-of-halt-act-as-corrections-officers-strike">suspended</a> due to the ongoing strike. 
What officers and supporters are saying 
While most officers will not speak directly to the media, there are retired officers participating in protests and expressing their frustrations. For example, Suzanne Furman retired months ago as a sergeant and told CBS that the job has become far more dangerous than the public knows. 
&#8220;You go to work and you don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;re gonna go home, and that&#8217;s a true statement,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-york-prison-guard-strike-day-5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;The general public does not know how dangerous this job has become.”
The HALT Act and other so-called prison reform policies have created an unsafe environment, which has, in turn, crushed recruitment efforts, officers say. The shortage has forced COs &#8212; including those who have put substantial time into the system and their pensions &#8212; to work long hours, which further contributes to safety issues.  
One corrections officer, who did not disclose a name, <a href="https://13wham.com/news/local/correctional-officer-speaks-out-following-a-77-hour-work-week-during-a-lockdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> local news station 13WHAM that their shift started on Monday, but they were not relieved until four days later.
&#8220;I was inside for 77 hours,&#8221; the officer said. &#8220;Then I came out and I&#8217;m really struggling mentally, from everything that happened, and especially the way the state implemented everything.&#8221;
&#8220;You just expect people to keep working insane hours,&#8221; the officer added.
Some fed-up officers are speaking out on public message boards. A woman named <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sarah.tompkins.927/posts/pfbid02b2Hez3iRAc47e7MzBzhBkUJLj7bpGcvjKaTLXrDNWhveydTtMyhkyR3ux2stx7hEl">Sarah Tompkins</a> alleges that while working at Green Haven Correctional Facility last year, an inmate tackled her to the floor and ripped out her hair. She provided photos of her injuries and said the inmate was only hit with harassment in the second degree, which is a violation, not a crime. 
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A male <a href="https://www.facebook.com/young.vee.7/posts/pfbid02bqaMjoWq9jonSseqWD8odqGc5kZ1E2f3bPp3kqUBdJvJZ3yCSVSQ8Cj6XqSF1p6Yl">officer</a> also shared photos of his injuries that allegedly occurred on the job and wrote, “I got punch[ed] in the face 3 times in a 30 day span.” 
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Another person <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mikeashley24/posts/pfbid02HwrwmHfRd67Czm8SijGV1BajyEKGqAx4exKwN3pgsSWF7K19gEzMLbTrfU7opjHZl">shared a video</a> of an officer being attacked by an inmate. &#8220;This is an inmate attempting to slice an officer’s throat and kill him. K I L L H I M. Not injure him, not strike him, and not just cut him,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;KILL HIM!&#8221;
Republican state senator Pamala Helming <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/pamela-helming/statement-senator-helming-doccs-staffing?utm_source=chatgpt.com">said</a> that earlier this month, a female officer at Groveland Correctional Facility was sitting at her desk when an inmate attacked her; she was choked, punched, and kicked in the face. 
How has Gov. Kathy Hochul reacted? 
Gov. Hochul has been very forceful with striking officers, telling them to “do your job” and calling the strike illegal. She even <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/19/us-news/ny-prison-guards-ordered-to-end-illegal-strikes-after-kathy-hochul-files-suit/">sued</a> striking officers to get them to report back to work, citing a violation of the “Taylor Law,&#8221; though some supporters of the officers say there is a provision about safety that makes the strike lawful.
Over the weekend, in relation to Hochul&#8217;s suit, the administration directed state troopers to serve papers on striking officers, which threatened them with arrest if they didn’t show up to court this week and subsequently return to work. 
She’s also working for the state to stop paying for health insurance coverage for those on strike. They’ll have to cover their entire share of their health insurance premium, which can be hundreds or thousands of dollars more a month. And if an officer can’t cover it, their insurance will be terminated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Hochul administration tells striking correctional officers the state is suspending participation in their health insurance, and the spineless union goes along with it, telling members they may lose coverage for their families. <a href="https://t.co/2ENb1Z0j6m">pic.twitter.com/2ENb1Z0j6m</a>
— Bob Lonsberry (@BobLonsberry) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobLonsberry/status/1893669499099861146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
On Monday, Hochul activated 6,500 National Guard members to help run the prisons while officers continued to strike. A spokesperson for Hochul said 5,100 members have already been deployed across the state.
Additionally, the DOCCS will be docking two days of pay for every day an officer remains on strike, and Hochul on Thursday moved to give her office the power to shut down up to five state prisons with 90 days of notice. The governor has already <a href="https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/local-news/2025/02/hochul-seeks-to-expedite-closure-of-five-state-prisons/#:~:text=Last%20year%2C%20the%20governor%20moved,to%20close%20six%20state%20prisons.">closed</a> prisons during her tenure, which officers say is only compounding safety issues. 
Inmate death during strike and other issues 
As the strike continues and officers&#8217; demands go unmet, the death of an inmate is drawing attention. A 61-year-old male inmate named Jonathon Grant was found unresponsive on Saturday at the Auburn Correctional Facility, where National Guard members have been deployed, an NBC affiliate <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/new-york/inmate-death-reported-ny-prison-illegal-guard-strike/6161861/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Grant was serving a 34-to-40-year sentence for rape and burglary.
“Since the strike began, Legal Aid has received dozens of reports from incarcerated clients across New York State about their inability to access critical medical care and essential prescriptions, including blood pressure medication and necessary insulin shots,” The Legal Aid Society said, the report noted. “This tragic incident highlights the dangers posed by the ongoing strike, as staff in over 40 prisons refuse to fulfill their duties.”
There have also been reports that CO recruits who are not yet fully trained have been mandated to go to prisons and work as the strike continues.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This👇🏻 and now governor Hochel is threatening to fire those striking the unsafe work conditions at the prisons. WTF?!?! <a href="https://t.co/uQ0vUmpG8h">pic.twitter.com/uQ0vUmpG8h</a>
— Riverrat328 (@riverrat328) <a href="https://twitter.com/riverrat328/status/1892029798123188227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
National Guard members have allegedly been subjected to &#8220;deplorable conditions&#8221; inside the NY prisons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Got this from my district office today…<a href="https://twitter.com/GovKathyHochul?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovKathyHochul</a> has subjected our National Guard troops to deplorable conditions as part of her self-created prison crisis. Governor &#8211; suspend HALT &#8211; restore safety and get these poor kids the hell out of this hell you created… <a href="https://t.co/uNYvXYkxP2">pic.twitter.com/uNYvXYkxP2</a>
— George Borrello (@SenatorBorrello) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorBorrello/status/1894400824513569004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
National Guard soldiers are sleeping in cells in New York&#8217;s prisons as they take the place of striking prison guards.
This video posted to social media appears to be from a maximum-security cell inside the Upstate Correctional Facility, one of the prisons near the airport where… <a href="https://t.co/QtVomYyHLV">pic.twitter.com/QtVomYyHLV</a>
— JB Nicholas (@JasonBNicholas) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonBNicholas/status/1893067675716182259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
Additionally, all visitations &#8212; both personal and legal &#8212; are <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/ny-prison-strike-visitation-canceled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">canceled</a> at facilities statewide, the DOCCS announced Thursday.
How mediation is going
Mediation between the two sides began Monday, with a reported offer from DOCCS for two times the hourly rate for overtime, the nixing of that controversial staffing-reduction memo, and suspension to certain provisions in the HALT Act &#8212; though there is reported skepticism from officers about the offer.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;Potential legislative changes to permanently change HALT&#8221; sounds a little lukewarm to me. &#8220;Potential legislative changes&#8221; is not &#8220;repeal.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/AlIKRDy8WV">pic.twitter.com/AlIKRDy8WV</a>
— Bob Lonsberry (@BobLonsberry) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobLonsberry/status/1894380118904033581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
So far, no deal has been met.

tu021925_PrisonStrike

Everything You Need To Know About The Corrections Officers Strike In NY

Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul is threatening New York state correction officers who are striking over unsafe working conditions with arrests if they do not return to their jobs.
Following a rise in violent incidents inside state prisons &#8212; which officers say is due to Democratic prison reform measures &#8212; correction officers and sergeants from two NY prisons started to protest and strike last Monday. The movement has since swelled in support, and now thousands of officers and sergeants from more than 30 prisons across the state are participating. 
Hochul reacted by suing the officers, which ultimately led to her administration directing state troopers to serve papers on striking officers.
&#8220;State troopers began serving judicial orders on striking correction officers over the weekend that threatened they could be arrested if they do not show up to court this week and subsequently return to work,&#8221; the Times Union <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/state-police-begin-serving-court-orders-striking-20184196.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>. &#8220;The service of the court orders is the first step in enforcing a temporary restraining order issued by a state Supreme Court justice in Erie County in a ruling that found the workers who began striking on February 17 are violating New York&#8217;s Taylor Law governing public employees that prohibits job walkouts.&#8221;
Additionally, Hochul has moved to stop paying for health insurance coverage for those striking. They’ll now have to cover their entire share of their health insurance premium, which can be hundreds to thousands of dollars more a month. If an officer can’t cover it, their insurance will be canceled. 
Officers say the strike is a long overdue reaction to Hochul &#8212; and before her, Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo &#8212; ignoring their complaints about safety and mandated work shifts that can sometimes exceed 48 hours at a time, according to a <a href="https://stefanik.house.gov/2025/2/statement-on-correctional-officers-facing-grave-danger-at-new-york-state-prisons">statement</a> from New York Congresswoman, Elise Stefanik. 
In the days leading up to the strike, officials locked down the Collins Correctional Facility in Erie County due to an inmate uprising. There was also a <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/pamela-helming/statement-senator-helming-doccs-staffing?utm_source=chatgpt.com">memo</a> circulated by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) &#8220;advising prison superintendents that 70% of DOCCS’ original staffing model is the new 100%.&#8221; 
Notably, those on strike do not have the support of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), which is the government-affiliated union for correctional officers, making the strike a &#8220;wildcat strike.&#8221; 
<div id="attachment_881991" style="width: 1016px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-881991" class="wp-image-881991 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2201178170-1.jpg" alt="Striking correction officers and their supporters stage a protest along Route 9W near Greene Correctional Facility state prison on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Coxsackie, N.Y." width="1006" height="617" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2201178170-1.jpg 1006w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2201178170-1-300x184.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2201178170-1-939x576.jpg 939w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2201178170-1-768x471.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1006px) 100vw, 1006px" />Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images</div>
Officers are calling for the HALT Act to be repealed. The law went into effect in 2022 and mandates what proponents say are “more humane alternatives” to solitary confinement while also limiting which inmates can be placed in solitary at all.
Supporters of the officers say the HALT Act hasn&#8217;t worked and has made prisons unsafe, not only for officers but for inmates and other workers, like nurses, social workers, maintenance staff, and more. 
They&#8217;ve <a href="https://x.com/WillABarclay/status/1893032059087548897">cited</a> DOCCS stats, arguing that there&#8217;s been a 169% increase in inmate-on-inmate assault, a 76% rise in inmate-on-staff assault, and a 32% bump in contraband cases since the HALT Act was implemented. 
Most officers will not speak to the media out of fear of retribution, but there are retired officers participating in protests and expressing their former colleagues&#8217; frustrations. For example, Suzanne Furman, a recently retired sergeant, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-york-prison-guard-strike-day-5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CBS, &#8220;You go to work and you don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;re gonna go home, and that&#8217;s a true statement. The general public does not know how dangerous this job has become.”
There are also message boards for officers, and some people are speaking out there. A woman named <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sarah.tompkins.927/posts/pfbid02b2Hez3iRAc47e7MzBzhBkUJLj7bpGcvjKaTLXrDNWhveydTtMyhkyR3ux2stx7hEl">Sarah Tompkins</a> said that while she was working at Green Haven Correctional Facility last year, an inmate tackled her to the floor and ripped out her hair. She provided photos of her injuries and said the inmate was only hit with harassment in the second degree, which is a violation, not a crime. 
A male <a href="https://www.facebook.com/young.vee.7/posts/pfbid02bqaMjoWq9jonSseqWD8odqGc5kZ1E2f3bPp3kqUBdJvJZ3yCSVSQ8Cj6XqSF1p6Yl">officer</a> also shared photos of his injuries from the job and wrote, “I got punch[ed] in the face 3 times in a 30 day span.” 
Republican state Senator Pamala Helming <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/pamela-helming/statement-senator-helming-doccs-staffing?utm_source=chatgpt.com">said</a> earlier this month that a female officer at Groveland Correctional Facility was sitting at her desk when an inmate attacked her; she was choked, punched, and kicked in the face and body. 
Mediation between both sides began on Monday, with a reported offer from DOCCS for two times the hourly rate for overtime, the nixing of the controversial staffing reduction memo, and the suspension of certain provisions in the HALT Act.

Hochul Threatens To Arrest Correction Officers Striking Over Unsafe Work Conditions 

Thousands of Amazon workers went on strike on Thursday as shoppers rush to complete last-minute holiday shopping the week before Christmas.
Union workers at seven fulfillment centers across the country joined the strike, according to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The union called the strike the largest ever against the online retail giant, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-workers-strike-union-61af8da6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” Teamsters head Sean O’Brien said in a statement posted to <a href="https://x.com/Teamsters/status/1869546520812408910" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X</a>. “These greedy executives had every chance to show decency and respect for the people who make their obscene profits possible. Instead, they’ve pushed workers to the limit and now they’re paying the price. This strike is on them.”
Amazon said the work stoppage is not expected to affect Christmas shopping and delivery times. It is unclear how long the strike is expected to last, though a representative for the union has said it would last beyond Thursday.
The battle between Amazon and the Teamsters has escalated recently as the company continues to fight against a 2022 union election in Staten Island, New York. The Amazon Labor Union won the vote, which was certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The union later voted to affiliate with the Teamsters.
The company has maintained that the election was unfair and continues to fight for another vote. Amazon has also filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a>
“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers.’ They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in a statement, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/amazon-strike-teamsters-delivery-gifts-1ea28e27bc3ddd88d9f0c7c53f798d1d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>.
“Our employees have a choice of whether or not to join a union. They always have,” Nantel said, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/19/business/amazon-teamsters-strike/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. “We favor opportunities for each person to be respected and valued as an individual and to have their unique voice heard by working directly with our team.” Amazon is on record saying it believes the 2022 election in Staten Island was not a level playing field and that the results certified by the NLRB do not accurately reflect the opinion of the workers at the facility.
Amazon and the Teamsters have also argued whether delivery drivers are Amazon employees or contractors. Amazon says delivery drivers are employees of a separate business, Delivery Service Partners.
“There are a lot of nuances here but I want to be clear, the Teamsters don’t represent any Amazon employees despite their claims to the contrary,” Nantel said. “This entire narrative is a PR play and the Teamsters’ conduct this past year, and this week is illegal.”

Amazon

Amazon Workers Strike As Union Threatens Christmas Package Delays

Business

Christmas

Labor Unions

Hundreds of tech workers for The New York Times are on strike on Election Day after walking off their jobs on Monday.
The New York Times Tech Guild has been threatening a strike if it did not have a new contract by Election Day, putting at risk the paper’s noted election coverage tools, such as its electoral map and its election needle.
“We are back out on the picket line today. We know this is a hard day to be on strike for our members but we want to be clear: We are here because of the decisions of @NYTimes management,” the guild said in a social media post on Tuesday morning.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
ELECTION DAY STRIKE: We are back out on the picket line today. We know this is a hard day to be on strike for our members but we want to be clear: We are here because of the decisions of <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NYTimes</a> management. <a href="https://t.co/K3ceJn4dHa">pic.twitter.com/K3ceJn4dHa</a>
&mdash; New York Times Tech Guild (@NYTGuildTech) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYTGuildTech/status/1853769231004733844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The guild represents more than 600 tech workers at The Times who work on games such as Wordle and The Crossword, as well as monitor many of the news organization&#8217;s audio options for its audience. It also supports the Times’ Cooking app.
“While we respect the union’s right to engage in protected actions, we’re disappointed that colleagues would strike at this time, which is both unnecessary and at odds with our mission,” Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/11/04/new-york-times-tech-strike-walkout/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>.
Perhaps most immediately important, the strike risks the functionality of the Times’ election tools on the site&#8217;s busiest day of the year.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
“It’s our peak traffic, when we see the most people coming to The New York Times is during a presidential election, so that’s why months ago we gave management a deadline saying we wanted a contract by the election or we’re going on strike,” Times software engineer Sarah Duncan told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-tech-worker-strike-stretches-election-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. “They wouldn’t give us what we were demanding, so we’ve already made enough compromises. We’re done compromising, so we’re out here until we get a fair contract.”
The Times tech union is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/10/23/new-york-times-tech-guild-strike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">negotiating</a> a contract for the first time since it was formed in 2022. Union leadership has three central demands that company executives have not met. First, the union wants just-cause job protections that ensure its members cannot be fired without reason. The two sides have yet to reach an agreement on what that process looks like, though Times management has said it supports the principle.
Second, the union seeks contractual assurances that the Times will not change its current hybrid work policies that allow significant time outside the office. 
Third, the union demands that Times leadership fix pay equity and pay fairness shortcomings across the company, as revealed in a union study of pay disparities for women and minorities.

The New York Times Tech Guild

Hundreds Of NYT Tech Workers Strike On Election Day

2024 Election

Elections

Legacy Media

New York City

The New York Times

One of the oldest cliches in Hollywood is that, if you want a story involving insane levels of corruption and over-the-top mob tactics, you should probably have a lot of dockworkers in your film. Some of the most famous movies ever made, like &#8220;On the Waterfront&#8221; starring Marlon Brando, made use of this conceit involving longshoremen. For generations, everyone&#8217;s understood that this industry functions a bit like a fiefdom, independent of the rest of the country. It promotes from within. It protects its own. And when it wants something, it&#8217;s not afraid to shut down the U.S. economy in order to get it.
Over the years, various presidents have had to tangle with the dockworkers and their unions. Some of these presidents, like FDR and Obama, have granted dockworkers massive concessions. Other presidents, like George W. Bush, went to <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2002/10/08/news/ports_longshoremen/">court</a> and used the Taft-Hartley Act to end strikes that were costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars a day. But no administration in the history of this country has adopted the approach that the Biden-Harris administration is now taking.
Right now, without any objection from the White House whatsoever, a 78-year-old union boss named Harold Daggett is proudly shaking down the entire country. He&#8217;s going on television wearing gold medallions and flaunting his $700,000 salary as his union, the 50,000-member International Longshoremen’s Association, shuts down 36 ports — including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. These ports, taken together, handle more than 50% of the imports and exports to this country. The cost to the U.S. economy is more than $4 billion a day, and very soon, this shutdown could lead to shortages and mass layoffs.
And Harold Daggett has made it very clear that he doesn&#8217;t care about any of these effects. He doesn&#8217;t care what happens to millions of Americans as a result of this strike. Watch:
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Longshoremen pres. boasts about a strike hurting everyday Americans: “People never gave a shit about us until now, when they finally realize that the chain is being broke now. Cars won’t come in, food won’t come in, clothing won’t come in.” <a href="https://t.co/rHJf1e96YU">pic.twitter.com/rHJf1e96YU</a>
&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1841138309801918954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Notice that there&#8217;s no rational argument here. He&#8217;s not arguing that dockworkers deserve higher salaries because they can&#8217;t make ends meet, or because they&#8217;re doing such a great job, or because they&#8217;re efficient, or any of that. He&#8217;s saying they should receive higher salaries because they&#8217;re holding America hostage. They have the power, so we need to pay the ransom.
When you look at the specific demands this union is making, the absurdity becomes even more apparent. Daggett wants the ports to give dockworkers a 77% pay raise to $69.00 an hour, after turning down a 50% pay raise. That&#8217;s far more than dockworkers make on the West Coast. Daggett also wants more &#8220;container royalties,&#8221; which gives money to longshoremen even if they&#8217;re not working. And he wants a complete ban on any forms of automation at ports.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1455-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h3>
Previously I&#8217;ve talked about the rise of automation, and how it&#8217;s a threat to many Americans&#8217; jobs. There are obviously a lot of important concerns as far as how automation is used, and how many jobs it&#8217;s allowed to replace. But in this context, this blanket demand — that no automation is used at all — is a dead giveaway. It&#8217;s evidence that these dockworkers don&#8217;t care about the economy at all, or remaining competitive with what other countries are doing.
Here&#8217;s a look at what they&#8217;re doing in ports in China, to give you some idea.
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Longshoremen in China:
The Chinese port in Guangzhou. 
Virtual Longshoremen unload ships remotely with 5G, and help supervise AI vehicles that automatically drive the containers to trucks and load them, all remotely. <a href="https://t.co/Tt5J0oP1yr">pic.twitter.com/Tt5J0oP1yr</a>
&mdash; Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianRoemmele/status/1840913618982093229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2024</a></blockquote>
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They still have people working there, as you can see. But they&#8217;re using cellular connections and computers to remotely unload and offload the cargo. In many cases, that&#8217;s safer, faster, and cheaper than having humans do it. We don&#8217;t have any of this, and it&#8217;s because of unions. These unions are a big part of why U.S. ports are so inefficient compared to ports all over the world. As recently as 2020, the World Bank found that there wasn&#8217;t a single U.S. port that ranked in the top 50 global ports in terms of &#8220;getting a ship in and out of port,&#8221; quickly and affordably. Not a single one. Overall, our ports are about half as efficient as global ports on average. And now, the unions representing the workers at these ports are demanding a massive raise — along with a ban on any form of technology that could make the ports more efficient.
If the Biden administration wanted to put an end to this, they could. They could do what Bush did, and take this union to court. They could apply public pressure. They could also threaten to repeal other laws on the books that already benefit the dockworkers&#8217; unions. There&#8217;s something called the Jones Act, for example. It requires that all goods transported between U.S. ports by water are carried on ships that are built in the U.S. and crewed by Americans. This leads to hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs, but unions <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/01/opinion/port-strike-shipping-union-inflation-prices.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">love</a> the law because it means more union jobs are created.
Of course, that law won&#8217;t change, and no one in the Biden administration wants it to change. They don&#8217;t want to upset Harold Daggett — someone the DOJ once accused of being an &#8220;associate&#8221; of a mafia family. He has quite a life story, by the way. 
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/10/01/business/who-is-harold-daggett-the-port-union-boss-with-alleged-mafia-ties/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>: 
<blockquote>Daggett took the witness stand that year after federal prosecutors charged him with racketeering. &#8230; During the course of the trial, one of Daggett’s co-defendants – Lawrence Ricci, an alleged major mob figure – disappeared. His body was found weeks later decomposing in the trunk of a car outside a New Jersey diner. Ricci’s death remained unsolved, though speculation circulated that he was killed after refusing to plead guilty to avoid news reports of the trial. &#8230; Daggett was acquitted.</blockquote>
So Harold Daggett beat that racketeering rap. And now he&#8217;s holding the U.S. economy hostage. Ships are having to re-route to the West Coast in order to prevent economic calamity, all because of him. It&#8217;s quite a recovery for Harold Daggett&#8217;s career. For the rest of us, it&#8217;s a crisis that has no real precedent in the past several decades.
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And this is just one of the several disasters that are unfolding in the final days of the Biden-Harris administration. Yesterday, Iran launched a volley of more than 180 ballistic missiles into Israel. This is the second direct attack by Iran against Israel in just the last few months. It&#8217;s put us much closer to World War III than we&#8217;ve been in recent history. And it comes just a year after the Biden administration&#8217;s national security adviser bragged that the Middle East was &#8220;quieter&#8221; than it&#8217;s been in two decades.  Watch:
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Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (last week): &quot;The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades&quot; <a href="https://t.co/59MYUXhmHf">pic.twitter.com/59MYUXhmHf</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1710747691024879691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
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A week after Jake Sullivan made that claim, Hamas terrorists backed by Iran committed a massacre in Israel. And now rockets are flying back and forth. And despite all of this, Jake Sullivan still has his job. He wasn&#8217;t fired. He wasn&#8217;t run out of Washington after making it abundantly clear that he has no idea what&#8217;s happening in the Middle East — which you&#8217;d think would be disqualifying for a national security adviser. They forced Mike Flynn out of the job of national security adviser after, what, three weeks? And then you have someone like Jake Sullivan, who&#8217;s obviously incompetent to the point of being dangerous, and he suffers no consequences whatsoever.
Again, nothing like this happened during the four years of the Trump administration. This level of international chaos, and complete ineptitude, simply was not present. Iran was not launching rockets directly into Israel, just like Russia wasn&#8217;t sending tanks directly into Ukraine. Are Iran and Russia taking advantage of the fact that the brain of the current U.S. president is basically applesauce at this point? That seems like a valid theory, especially since the Biden administration has no alternative hypothesis for what&#8217;s going on. If you ask them, everything&#8217;s fine — until suddenly it isn&#8217;t.
That&#8217;s the same story we&#8217;re seeing in North Carolina, as I discussed yesterday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Gut wrenching scenes from Western NC today. This is Chimney Rock — just downriver from Asheville. It’s one of the countless communities completely devastated by Helene that still need help. Give if you can, and please keep them all in your thoughts <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC11_WTVD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABC11_WTVD</a> <a href="https://t.co/N7JDk0ygfz">pic.twitter.com/N7JDk0ygfz</a>
&mdash; Sean Coffey (@seancoffeytv) <a href="https://twitter.com/seancoffeytv/status/1841287895992201623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
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After failing to evacuate residents from the western portion of the state, the federal government is now failing to help many of the survivors. Yesterday I shared an email that came from someone named Jason, who&#8217;s from the rural area of Ashe County. He reported that FEMA was nowhere in sight. Here&#8217;s an update he sent me last night: 
<blockquote>I just got home from volunteering with a search and rescue team in Lansing which is one of the flooded rural towns. &#8230; Funny thing is the FEMA people showed up today but they are worthless. We ran into a bunch while we were delivering water and generators and they were just walking around making sure that people were still in the house.</blockquote>
So the federal government is still failing to help people in the most devastated rural areas. And communications are still spotty, in part because the government didn&#8217;t want to spend any money on Elon Musk&#8217;s Starlink system because they have a vendetta against Elon Musk. As a result, private citizens are now installing Starlink systems in the area. Journalist Nick Sortor just <a href="https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1841240114032431292" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that &#8220;first responders still do not have reliable communications&#8221; in North Carolina after four days. He uploaded this footage of three North Carolina State Police units giving him a police escort so that he can deploy Starlink systems for others to use, and he added that the police are, &#8220;literally using MY Window Starlink to communicate with each other!&#8221; Watch:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 First responders *STILL* do not have reliable comms here in Western North Carolina
After FOUR DAYS.
The three NC State Police units giving us a police escort so that we can quickly deploy Starlinks across the region are literally using MY Window Starlink to communicate with… <a href="https://t.co/uLceenFYbL">pic.twitter.com/uLceenFYbL</a>
&mdash; Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1841240114032431292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The federal government spends hundreds of billions of dollars to prepare for disasters like this, ostensibly so that vital communications equipment and supplies are available within hours. But they haven&#8217;t been doing that. For the past several days, random people — citizen journalists and volunteers — have been doing a better job than the government agency that supposedly specializes in disaster relief.
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So wherever you look — whether it&#8217;s the Middle East, or North Carolina, or the nation&#8217;s ports — you&#8217;ll find an ongoing, once-in-a-lifetime disaster that&#8217;s threatening to spiral even further out of control. This is what the country — and the world — look like at the end of the Biden-Harris term. There are multiple catastrophes happening all at once. It&#8217;s impossible for anyone to deny that the world is a measurably worse and more dangerous place today than it was when they took office. Everyone knows it. Even Kamala Harris knows it. It&#8217;s why she had to duck the first question of the presidential debate, when she was asked whether Americans are better off now than they were four years ago. 
This is the Biden-Harris &#8220;legacy.&#8221; It&#8217;ll either end in January, or inevitably, these people will lead us into a major catastrophe that we can&#8217;t come back from.

US Dockworker Strike Shutters Eastern And Gulf Coast Ports

How Dirty Union Greed Is Holding The American People Hostage

Biden Administration

Floods

Hurricane Helene

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Shipping

Unions

President Joe Biden appeared to confuse a military strike with a labor dispute when speaking to reporters over the weekend, responding to a question about Israeli air strikes in Yemen by stating that he was in support of “collective bargaining.”
Biden was exiting a vehicle when reporters began to shout questions at him, and he answered a few related to Israel and escalating military actions targeting Iranian-backed terror proxies like Hezbollah — but when a reporter followed up with a question about the “strikes in Yemen,” Biden answered as though he believed the issue was a simple labor dispute.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
REPORTER: &quot;Any comment on the strikes in Yemen, Mr. President!?&quot;
BIDEN (or whatever&#39;s left of him): &quot;I&#39;ve spoken to both sides. They gotta settle the strike. I&#39;m supporting the collective bargaining effort. I think they&#39;ll settle the strike.&quot;
🤔 <a href="https://t.co/iFawNWdWyH">pic.twitter.com/iFawNWdWyH</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1840575813986423293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
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“Mr. President, will you deploy more U.S. troops to the Middle East?” one reporter shouted, and Biden said, “No.”
First lady Jill Biden also exited the vehicle and quickly walked away, turning her back on the press while her husband walked toward reporters.
“Mr. President, has Netanyahu gone too far?” another reporter asked.
Biden did not appear to answer that question but approached the gathered reporters.
“Any comment on the strikes in Yemen, Mr. President?” a reporter asked.
“I&#8217;ve spoken to both sides. They gotta settle the strike. I&#8217;m supporting the collective bargaining effort. I think they&#8217;ll settle the strike,” Biden replied.
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“Just so we&#8217;re all clear on what&#8217;s happening here — Jill Biden walks off without him, he is then asked about the Israeli IDF missile strikes in Yemen, and his reply is that he supports a union collective bargaining agreement and thinks that the strike will end soon,” conservative pundit Stephen L. Miller explained in an X post.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Back in June, you were called a conspiracy theorist and a cheap fake artist for pointing things like this out.
&mdash; Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) <a href="https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1840587978990649811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Miller then drew attention to the fact that Biden’s administration — including Vice President Kamala Harris — had covered for Biden long after it was obvious to everyone that he was struggling cognitively.
“Back in June, you were called a conspiracy theorist and a cheap fake artist for pointing things like this out.”

President Biden Returns To The White House After Quad Summit

Biden Confuses Military Strike With Labor Strike, Supports ‘Collective Bargaining’ In Yemen

Biden Confuses Military Strike With Labor Strike, Supports 'Collective Bargaining' In Yemen

Executive

Hezbollah

Israel

Joe Biden

Military

Yemen

About 45,000 dockworkers plan to walk off the job on Tuesday, hobbling the supply chain and throwing a wrench into the presidential election.
The International Longshoremen’s Association will launch a massive strike if port ownership does not meet the union’s demands for higher wages and address their objections to port automation. Negotiations broke down over the summer and the two sides are still at an impasse.
The strike will shutter 36 ports on the East and Gulf Coasts, choking off nearly half of all U.S. imports and costing the economy billions of dollars a day. Depending on how long the strike lasts, Americans could see shortages and delays past the election and into the holiday season.
Bananas, coffee, cocoa, pharmaceuticals, clothing, furniture, vehicles, and even Christmas decorations are among the products that will be affected. As far as American exports, beef, poultry, pork, eggs, and cotton will be impacted as well.
Supply chain shortages could cause prices to rise just as families are trying to recover from the <a href="https://econofact.org/inflation-and-prices#:~:text=But%20inflation%20rose%20well%20above,measured%20using%20the%20CPI%2DU." target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly</a> 20% spike in prices since before the pandemic.
The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents port ownership, said in a statement, &#8220;we value the work of the ILA and have great respect for its members. We have a shared history of working together and are committed to bargaining.&#8221;
However, the alliance also filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge accusing the union of refusing to come to the table and negotiate. The current contract expires Monday.
On Sunday and Monday, the union <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ILAUnion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reaffirmed</a> its plans to strike in statements on social media, saying that port ownership continues to &#8220;block&#8221; a &#8220;fair and decent contract and seems intent on causing a strike at all ports from Maine to Texas.&#8221;
“The Ocean Carriers represented by USMX want to enjoy rich billion-dollar profits that they are making in 2024, while they offer ILA Longshore Workers an unacceptable wage package that we reject,” the union said Monday. “ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing.
Dock workers will hit the streets at midnight on October 1, the union said.
The union added that it is &#8220;disgraceful&#8221; that foreign shipping companies want to make billion dollar profits at U.S. ports while longshore workers are &#8220;crippled by inflation&#8221; due to &#8220;unfair wage packages.&#8221;
<div dir="auto">“In addition, the shippers are gouging their customers that result in increased costs to American consumers &#8230; They are killing the customers,” the union said.</div>
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President Joe Biden indicated that he has no intention of stepping in and stopping the strike, which he could do under the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows the president to prevent strikes that would threaten national security or health. This would force union workers to stay on the job for another 80 days.
On Sunday, Biden responded to a question about Israel&#8217;s strikes in Yemen by talking about the impending labor strike.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve spoken to both sides. They&#8217;ve got to settle the strike. I support the collective bargaining effort. I think they&#8217;ll settle the strike,&#8221; Biden told reporters on the tarmac.
No negotiations are scheduled before the strike is set to begin on Tuesday.
Even a one-day strike would snarl supply chains for six days, according to industry insiders. A longer strike would take weeks or months to recover from.
Meanwhile, the economy and inflation are top issues on voters&#8217; minds this presidential election, now just five weeks away.
Vice President Kamala Harris has struggled to win over voters with her economic message, with polls showing that a majority of voters favor former President Donald Trump on the economy.

Dock Workers Threaten First Major Strike In Fifty Years

East Coast Dockworkers Plan To Strike Tuesday, Hobbling Supply Chain

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