Skip to main content

Mansour Speaks to WTVM about Recent Port Strike

Turner College economics professor, and Director of the Butler Center for Research and Economic Development, Fady Mansour spoke with WTVM9's Macy Woodworth about the port strike that occurred along the east and Gulf coasts last week. The strike involved thousands of port workers, resulting in one of the most disruptive strikes the United States has experienced in more recent years. The strikes occurred at 14 different ports with the involvement of over 25,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association. Workers were demanding a 77% wage increase in the next six years, along with the demand of protection against automation. “You may think why someone with $81,000 dollars a year wants a wage increase . . . it’s the housing inflation,” explained Mansour. “Wages increased in the last 3-4 years, but if you look at the housing it increased by 40 to 60 percent in some areas; there is no match to your wage increase. For instance, one of the affected ports is located in Savannah, where the average house price skyrocketed from $255,000 before the pandemic to $443,000 in the second quarter of 2024. This significant rise in housing costs means that workers would now need to almost double their income to qualify for the same home they could afford just a few year ago.” The United States Maritime Alliance originally offered a 50% increase in wages, but failed reach an agreement regarding the protection against automation. “This reflects [an] ongoing struggle in the labor market between workers and automation,” said Mansour. “A one week strike could cost the U.S. economy roughly $3.8 billion, potentially raising consumer goods prices, according to the Conference Board. While this figure is a small fraction of the nearly $29 trillion U.S. economy, the impact disproportionately affects small businesses. Many holiday-driven retailers had already adjusted their supply chains in anticipation of such labor distributions.” While the port strikes caused some public worry and plenty of questions, Mansour does not see a need to stress. "The implications of what happen[ed] is more important than the event itself,” said Mansour.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Turner College Faculty Recognized for Outstanding Teaching

CSU Head Women's Soccer Coach Jay Entlich recently released a list of CSU faculty who have been chosen by a player as a member of the CSU faculty who has impacted the player in a positive way along their journey at CSU. Four Turner College faculty were included on the list, along with the player who nominated each. Management professor Phil Bryant was named by Sophia Leal , a freshman midfielder from Oxford, Georgia. Sophia attended Eastside High School and was a two-time all-region selection during her high school career. Through the first 10 games of 2024, she has scored one goal and recorded three assists.         Next, management professor John Finley was named by Lizz Forshaw , a graduate student forward from Stockton, England. Lizz, who attended IMG Academy in south Florida, has scored four goals and recorded four assists this season. During her senior year in 2023, she scored three goals and recorded two assists. As a junior in 2022, Lizz scored three goals ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Turner College Grad Publishes Academic Study on Corporate Culture and Strategy

Former Turner College student Tamara Todorova , now an associate professor of economics at American University in Bulgaria (AUB), recently published a study on corporate culture and strategy. Todorova earned an MBA from the Turner College in 1996 and then went on to earn a doctorate in international economics from the University of Economics - Varna in 2001. She has been on the faculty at AUB since August of 2000. Todorova's study, which appears in the current issue of the International Journal of Business Performance Management , investigates how corporate culture helps to economize on the transaction costs of internal organization. As she explains, the dimensions of corporate culture that assist in this task include increasing trust and reducing intrafirm opportunism. Todorova's study demonstrates that setting common goals and a common direction reduces the sizeable costs of internal organization. Tamara's prior research appears in Economics of Transition , International ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hammer joins Turner College Finance Faculty

The Turner College's Department of Accounting and Finance welcomes Melissa Ingle Hammer , who joins the group as an adjunct faculty in finance.  Hammer graduated from the Turner College in 2005, after earning a BBA in finance. She later went on to earn an MBA from Auburn University, a Specialist Certificate in Conduct Risk from the University of Manchester, a Certificate in Team Culture from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Certificate in Executive Presence from Cornell University. Hammer is the SVP of Fair Lending Product Management with RiskExec at Asurity. She previously worked as Compliance Manager of Fair Lending at Synovus, a senior regulatory consultant with Wolters Kluwer, and as VP of Compliance at TD. This semester Hammer will be teaching FINC 3135, Financial Institutions and Technologies. Turner Business  welcomes Melissa and wishes her a great first semester in the Turner College.
Post a Comment
Read more