Pentagon Warns 2 Million Troops, Workers May Have to Work Without Pay Next Week

The Pentagon warned 1.3 million U.S. troops and 742,000 workers they could be forced to work without pay or furloughed in less than one week if Congress doesn’t pass a budget.

Lawmakers have six days until the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 to come up with a stopgap measure to fund the government. If not, federal government offices will close. The military must still report to work, but their paychecks will be withheld until the government reopens. Continue reading

“Catastrophic Shutdown Of America’s Supply Chain Looms” As West Coast Port Worker Talks Break Down

For those who have been following the recent ISM reports, one of the recurring concerns of respondents in both the manufacturing and service sector has been the congestion at West Coast Ports – which handled 43.5% of containerized cargo in the U.S and where transiting cargo accounted for 12.5% of US GDP – as a result of reduced work output by the local unions who have been more focused in recent weeks on ongoing wage hike negotiations.

And according to the latest update from the 29 west coast ports that serve as the entry point of the bulk of Asia/Pac trade into and out of the US, things are about to get far worse for America’s manufacturing base, because as RILA reported earlier, talks between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) representing port management, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) officially broke down on Wednesday, and without an agreement, experts have suggested that nearly 30 west coast ports could be shut down within a week. Continue reading