A longshoremen's strike that has shut down dozens of ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast has led to shortages of toilet paper and paper towels at Costco on Staten Island, despite experts' claims that paper products are not affected by the strike. There are reports of panic buying.
Video footage Wednesday showed vast empty shelves stocked with toilet paper, paper towels and tissues. One corner posted by FreedomNews.TV shows just a few pallets of Kleenex at the Costco on Richmond Avenue near the Staten Island Mall.
Meanwhile, all the toilet paper shelves were completely removed, revealing a long empty wall behind them.
“Everyone came out because they were worried about the strike,” a shopper who gave her name as Josephine told the paper. “We have to buy milk, bread and eggs, but they also provided paper towels.”
One shopper said he wasn't worried yet, but said, “I'm going to start getting worried in another week.''
“I think the strike should end.” [and] “I think the president should shut it down because this is bad for the economy,” she said, adding, “Everyone will be bankrupt by the time Christmas comes around.”
Experts estimate that an estimated 90% of the toilet paper sold in the United States is produced domestically and not imported, with the remainder produced in Canada or Mexico, meaning it is brought into the country via rail or railroad. Considering this, he says there is no need for panic buying. A truck, not a boat.
The Post has reached out to Costco on Staten Island for comment.
X social media users posted several photos and videos of store shelves in Virginia and New Jersey, showing empty shelves that once held toilet paper and paper towels.
The port strike will have an immediate impact on perishable goods, most of which are imported, such as bananas, cherries, cocoa and sugar.
Toilet paper and paper towels do not spoil.
President Biden, who has the authority under federal law to order longshoremen back to work, said he would not intervene.
Instead, he urged trade unions and organizations representing port operators to draw up a new collective agreement.
The strike entered its third day on Thursday, but there were no signs the two sides were moving closer to an agreement.
The International Longshoremen's Association, led by president Harold Daggett, and its 50,000 members resigned, demanding that management agree to a ban on automation and significant wage increases.
Daggett, who lives in a 7,000-square-foot mansion in a leafy area of New Jersey, vowed to “paralyze” the U.S. economy, which is expected to lose billions of dollars as a result of the prolonged work stoppage.
If the strike continues for a long time, electronic equipment, auto parts, pharmaceuticals, European beer and spirits, and European cars brought in from overseas through ports could become in short supply and prices could soar.
