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Longshoremen Union Denies Venezuela Taste of Freedom

A Quarter Pounder meal is served with arepas or corn cakes at a local McDonald's, in Caracas, Venezuela. / AP

As the Longshoremen’s union battles to settle a new contract, the resulting slowdown for West Coast ports has cut off contact between McDonald’s French fries and those living under the oppressive Venezuelan regime. Residents have been forced to turn to healthier alternatives amid the chaos.

McDonald’s blames the port dispute for stopping the export of frozen fries to the country. The situation has gotten so bad, McDonald’s has even begun serving alternatives like deep-fried arepa flatbreads and yucca, a starchy root.

Though McDonald’s put the blame on the port dispute, some locals have begun to blame their embattled socialist administration.

"It’s because of the situation here--it’s a total debacle," Maria Guerreiro told the AP. Her 2-year-old daughter will not eat the super-starchy root; all she wanted was a Happy Meal.

The port dispute is not the only thing hindering McDonald's operations in Venezuela. Stringent government price controls have created a fast food black market, according to the AP.

Most of the shortages in Venezuela are driven in part by the country's tight currency controls, which makes it hard to get dollars at a subsidized rate for imports and creates a thriving black market for currency. As a result, the country either has the most expensive Happy Meal in the world ($27 the official exchange rate) or the cheapest (90 cents at the black market rate).

The Pacific Maritime Association accused the union of sabotaging port operations to achieve leverage at the negotiating table.

The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents 70 shipping companies, says that the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) is "crippling" the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle, which handle 16 percent of all imports.

"We have been told that ILWU business agents sent the slowdown orders out late last week," PMA spokesman Wade Gates said in a Monday release.

PMA said the union "orchestrated" the slowdown and that productivity at the ports has plummeted in the last few weeks. The ports are running 40 to 60 percent slower than normal business operations, according to the PMA. The union has also purposefully failed to meet the labor needs to run the ports, according to PMA allegations.

 

Published under: Unions , Venezuela