Lessons from the waterfront

Re “Glug, glug,” Opinion, Dec. 22

The waterfront has always been a telling economic indicator. For years, longshoremen have been able to describe the state of the economy because they see what comes into the country and what goes out.

Over the years, we have understood that imported cargo created good jobs here in the United States and that exports provided farmers, miners, ranchers and refinery workers with overseas markets for their products. It was a delicate balance, but in recent decades, there has been a move to export good-paying U.S. jobs to the Third World. These aren’t manufacturing jobs but everything in between -- jobs in the garment industry, in banking and credit, even in the movie industry. I have worked the Hanjin Miami several times, and I take pride in the job we longshoremen do. I take my hat off to Rob Long for writing about what we have known for years -- that the balance between what is good for U.S. workers and big business has been tilted in favor of the very rich, and that that imbalance, if allowed to continue, will turn the U.S. into a Third World country.

Anthony L. Scirocco

San Pedro