Employers all over the US are moaning about a worker shortage. Small business owners who depend on immiserated workers who have no choice but to take any job no matter what the pay and benefits are particularly vocal in this regard.
Many are blaming the "supply chain" for shortages of goods and services on a shortage of truck drivers. Large trucking companies claim they can't get drivers to work. It turns out that a majority of jobs for drivers at ports of entry don't pay by the hour, but by the load. Bottlenecks in the port have slowed the loading times to the point where once a driver was able to transport 3 loads a day from the dock to a nearby warehouse. Now with delays, the same driver can only count on delivering 1 load. That is a 2/3 cut in pay. Meanwhile, in inflation adjusted dollars, long haul drivers have not seen a real pay increase in over 20 years.
The talking heads on TV who make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and more are shrilly calling for workers to accept whatever employers are willing to pay and get back to work so they can enjoy a return to "normalcy". BTW, many of these pundits supported closing the borders so many immigrants who would have taken low paying jobs are not available. As we edge toward full employment, workers will gain even more power. Perhaps this is the way capitalism should work.
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