This split between the fortunes of ocean shippers and their barely-hanging-on workers stems from industry-wide deregulation that supersized both container ships and the companies that pilot them.
COVID-19 is far from over, not because it cannot be stopped but because it cannot be stopped in a profit-driven society. The same can be said for climate change, environmental destruction, pollution, poverty, and war.
Lipton brings tea from around the world through the Port of Virginia. At its single 20-acre plant in nearby Suffolk, 200 workers roast, blend, package, and warehouse it, producing over 6 billion bags a year. For years on end, these workers have been “drafted”—the company’s term for forced overtime—into working 13 straight days out of every 14.
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