Get Your Coffee Now! Possible Shortages on Way...

[RetiredHappy]

Having reverse osmosis water at home eliminates the need to buy bottled water. The best thing we can do for ourselves.

 

[motley]

Water itself might not expire, but the container might deteriorate quicker than you think - especially plastic bottles. Under that weight, they eventually go, and it's not terribly long. (as someone who keeps hurricane supplies, I can tell you this first hand).

Exactly. Thinking one can store water indefinitely is asking for trouble. Better off to buy a filtration system if worried about emergencies long term.

 

[skipro33]

This was posted at CBS News in an article dated today:
"Pay for longshoremen is based on their years of experience. Under the ILA's former contract with USMX, which expired on Monday, starting pay for dockworkers was $20 per hour. That rose to $24.75 per hour after two years on the job and to $31.90 after three years, topping out at $39 for workers with at least six years of service."

I'm curious, what source did you use that claims average dock workers earn $150,000?

I got this from NBC NIghtly News with Lester Holt. But I checked the CBS News webite as well since you posted them as source.
From CBS News at the same link as your quote:

How much do dockworkers make? Here is the pay raise they secured in tentative new deal.

Thousands of East and Gulf Coast dockworkers went on strike demanding higher pay. Here are the wage increases they secured.

www.cbsnews.com

That top-tier hourly wage of $39 amounts to just over $81,000 annually, but dockworkers can make significantly more by taking on extra shifts. For example, according to a 2019-20 annual report from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, about one-third of local longshoremen made $200,000 or more a year.

I presume the 1/3rd @ $200K and the base pay of $81K has an average of $150K. Also note that those wages were based on a 2019-2020 report, over 4 years ago! I would think they've gotten some raises over the past 4 years, but I do not know that as a fact and the article didn't stipulate.

 

[skipro33]

Looks like the strike was short lived and over:

From USA Today:
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES — A union representing U.S. dock workers and port operators have reached a tentative deal on wages that will end a three-day strike that has shut down shipping on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast. the International Longshoremen's Association union and the United States Maritime Alliance said on Thursday.

The agreement extends the master contract between the union and port operators until Jan. 15, 2025, allowing negotiations to continue on other aspects of the contract. A joint statement did not specify what wages were agreed upon or the other terms that required negotiation.

"Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume," the statement said.

The tentative agreement is for a wage hike of around 62% over six years, The Bergen Record, a part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, reported.

The workers union had been seeking a 77% raise while the employer group previously raised its offer to a nearly 50% hike.

 

[motley]

Looks like the strike was short lived and over:

...for 3 months. I wouldn't call that "over."

Whatever the numbers are, these guys still make very good money. wah. I have no problem bringing in the automated systems to replace them.

 

[Ballhawker]

I got this from NBC NIghtly News with Lester Holt. But I checked the CBS News webite as well since you posted them as source.
From CBS News at the same link as your quote:

How much do dockworkers make? Here is the pay raise they secured in tentative new deal.

Thousands of East and Gulf Coast dockworkers went on strike demanding higher pay. Here are the wage increases they secured.

www.cbsnews.com

I presume the 1/3rd @ $200K and the base pay of $81K has an average of $150K. Also note that those wages were based on a 2019-2020 report, over 4 years ago! I would think they've gotten some raises over the past 4 years, but I do not know that as a fact and the article didn't stipulate.

Gotcha, thanks for finding that. Lots of OT! Wow.

 

[aja8888]

...for 3 months. I wouldn't call that "over."

Whatever the numbers are, these guys still make very good money. wah. I have no problem bringing in the automated systems to replace them.

Having negotiated union contracts in a previous life, I will say it's essentially over. Money is the big ticket item and when that gets resolved, the rest is benefit increases, local issues and perks for the Union President and his staff.

 

[Chuckanut]

Settled!

Crisis averted. Back to normal.

Selling coffee futures asap,

 

[gianmatt]

Having negotiated union contracts in a previous life, I will say it's essentially over. Money is the big ticket item and when that gets resolved, the rest is benefit increases, local issues and perks for the Union President and his staff.

The head of that union lives like a king in a mansion. Who's surprised?

 

[Car-Guy]

Settled!

Crisis averted. Back to normal.

Shocking, simply shocking. (NOT!)

 

[RetiredHappy]

The head of that union lives like a king in a mansion. Who's surprised?

So do mafias.

 

[Jerry1]

1 Walmart was out of TP by me (Arizona).

Yep, I went to my local Costco to get other stuff, and the TP and PT aisle was wiped clean.

After the COVID toilet paper shortage, I vowed never to be caught short handed again. Not a huge supply, but with just DW and I, probably about 6 months. Same with paper towels. Kroger just had a sale on Northern last week so we’re actually a little over on our TP supply.

Toilet paper and paper towels are an excellent investment if you have room to store them. I really loaded up before I retired in 2016 and was still working on them in 2020 when covid hit. In fact I had so much TP that I gave the nursing home workers an entire big BJ bundle.

When you factor in price inflation TP and paper towels outperform treasury bills even with current rates.

I recall that as a discussion item in the 70’s. One way to deal with inflation is to buy things that you know you’ll use that have a very long shelf life. Of course, storage is an issue at some point, but locking in today’s price in a highly inflationary time period can result in a very high effective yield. At the time, a frequent example was razor blades. Storing things long term also has the risk of obsolescence. I’m sure a 1970’s razor blade would work, but it won’t have five blades plus the trimming blade plus the lubrication strips we see today.

 

[erkevin]

So are all of these yahoos going to go back to Costco, Wally, etc and try to return their goods that they thought were such clever buys?

 

[Ballhawker]

So are all of these yahoos going to go back to Costco, Wally, etc and try to return their goods that they thought were such clever buys?

Yes. So check packaging carefully before buying! Lots of restocked stuff coming to Costco and Walmart shelves soon.

 

[rodi]

I went to costco yesterday (my usual 2x/month trip). More than normal customers were still buying big blocks of TP and there was less than usual available for sale. (indicating people were buying more than usual). This was after the announcement of the strike being suspended... Not to mention that this is San Diego (west coast) and our dock workers weren't striking. People are lemmings.... they don't apply critical thought.
Also - seemed like a lot more 'amateurs' at costco yesterday - the folks who shop there rarely, but always at Christmas time, have crappy shopping cart etiquette, blocking aisles, etc. I cut down on my costco trips during Christmas because I get so annoyed by the clueless, infrequent (amateur) costco shoppers.

The shopping cart thing at Costco is real - the carts are bigger and you have to park them to the side or your block the aisle. I made my kids practice spacial awareness with costco carts before getting learners permits... If you can't drive a costco cart without hitting someone, then you can't drive my car.

 

[audreyh1]

Just weird!

 

[Major Tom]

A couple of years ago, I went on a 4.5 month long campervan trip. In order to minimize water consumption and cleanup, I began drinking tea in the morning (made from teabags) instead of coffee. To my surprise, I did fine, and didn't miss coffee at all.

However, once I got back home, I switched back to coffee immediately! If, for any reason, I can't get coffee, or the price shoots up, I'll either drink less or switch to tea. It's fine. Coffee is not an essential. Heck, I would do fine on water alone. Now, a shortage of water - that would be a real problem.

 

[Badger]

Also - seemed like a lot more 'amateurs' at costco yesterday - the folks who shop there rarely, but always at Christmas time, have crappy shopping cart etiquette, blocking aisles, etc. I cut down on my costco trips during Christmas because I get so annoyed by the clueless, infrequent (amateur) costco shoppers.

I shop at Costco often and this is my biggest pet peeve most of the year. It isn't just at Costco though. So many people have just become rude and inconsiderate. It's sad.

 

[aja8888]

All the years of shopping at Costco made me realize that I should have bought the common stock instead of the goods.

 

[Midpack]

I shop at Costco often and this is my biggest pet peeve most of the year. It isn't just at Costco though. So many people have just become rude and inconsiderate. It's sad.

I only shop at Costco Mon thru Thur. Definitely less crowded and fewer amateurs IME.

Rude and inconsiderate is universal, has nothing to do with Costco or members.

 

[audreyh1]

All the years of shopping at Costco made me realize that I should have bought the common stock instead of the goods.

Yeah, but back when I figured out Costco I was already done with owning individual stocks.

 

[audreyh1]

Wow, I guess this must have blasted on the nightly news. Apparently many ran out and stocked up on domestically produced items including those in California where ports were open.

Why were people panic buying toilet paper again? The reason may be solved for now

Some consumers, worried about COVID-19-era shortages amid a now delayed dockworkers strike at ports, are stockpiling goods. Did they need to?

www.desertsun.com

 

[Turbo29]

Don't think I ever got 50% over 10 years.

I understand not wanting your j*b to be taken by a robot, but that's where we're headed. Time to learn how to run the robot.

 

[Badger]

Yeah, but back when I figured out Costco I was already done with owning individual stocks.

All the years of shopping at Costco made me realize that I should have bought the common stock instead of the goods.

I got lucky years ago at $67/share. I wish I had bought more but was not in the situation where I had the money to take a bigger chance. I wonder when the stock will split.