Further investigation as to the cause of the blockage at west-coast ports. It's not what you think

You may have heard that the blockage at west-coast ports is due to a decade-old decree by the California Air Resources Board.  I though so too, but on further investigation that turns out to be a fake– a cleverly planted fable: 

 It’s true that back in 2010 the Cali Air Resources Board–an agency with absolutely dictatorial power–decreed that beginning in 2020 trucks more than three years old wouldn’t be allowed to operate in the state. So because that was true–meaning roughly half the nation’s trucks wouldn’t be allowed to haul from Cali ports-- virtually everyone bought that as the cause of the bottleneck.

But as much as I hate the Air Resources Board, four things show that’s not what's causing the blockage: First, even with half the nation’s trucks banned, that leaves a LOT of trucks available to haul shipping containers out of the ports. And sure enough, vids show tractors lined up a mile long at the entrance to Cali ports. Some drivers say they’ve been waiting for days to get a load. So it’s not a shortage of Cali-legal trucks.

Second: Washington state has a big port, and obviously the decree by the Cali Air Resources Board doesn’t affect Washington, eh? So there should be a steady stream of containers leaving the port in that state. But there’s not. In fact trucks are lined up to enter the port there too. But none of the container cranes seem to be moving. Hmmm…

Third: For long overland hauls, rail is a LOT less expensive than trucking, since two men can move more than 200 containers, and the energy cost per ton-mile is a lot lower. Rail isn’t affected by the CARB decree, yet we’re not seeing a steady stream of trains leaving the ports. Why not?

Clearly, lack of transportation on the land side–truck or rail–is NOT the problem. So what is? Enter the 4th factor: The ILWU is in the middle of “negotiations” with the port operators. Some union crane operators make $250,000 per year, but apparently they want more, and see this as the way to get it. Truckers who have been waiting several days for a container say the crane operators are only unloading one ship per day, and only loading trucks with that many containers.

The reason we haven’t seen this officially confirmed is that truckers know that if they go on the record about it, they can’t ever get another load. Railroad people are keeping quiet because they don’t want labor troubles of their own. Ship owners don’t want to anger the longshoremen because that means longer waits to unload, which costs them a bundle.

If we had an administration with balls, they’d threaten to fine the union leaders, and that would put an end to it. But of course biden and the Dems…. I suspect this is why Sec of Transportation Buttigeig and his husband have been keeping such a low profile for the last three weeks, lest some reporter ask him why he’s been so conspicuously silent about this problem.  (Yes, I know the official Narrative is that he's on paid maternity leave so he can't be asked questions until that ends.  No word on when that will be.)