Lazy crane operators making $250,000 a year exacerbating port crisis, truckers say

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Logjam Of Container Ships Clog Southern California Ports
In an aerial view, container ships and shipping containers are seen at the Port of Los Angeles on September 20, 2021 near Los Angeles, California.

LONG BEACH, California — Crane operators who belong to a powerful union and earn up to $250,000 a year transferring containers from ships to trucks are worsening the supply chain crisis that threatens Christmas by goofing off on the job, frustrated truckers told the Washington Examiner.

The finger-pointing at the busy Los Angeles County ports comes as scores of container ships are anchored off the California coast, waiting in some cases for weeks to unload their freight. The Biden administration has scrambled to get shipping executives, port officials, and labor to tackle the problem. While the reasons for the burgeoning backlog are complex, truck drivers say not everyone seems to be working together.

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