Put on Rod Stewart because it feels like 1977. For the first time in almost 50 years, dockworkers along the East and Gulf Coasts are on strike, resulting from failed negotiations between their union and port operators over higher pay and job security from automation.

Roughly 47,000 dockworkers, a part of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), have stopped unloading containers in a debilitating strike that—depending on how long it lasts—could damage the US economy, raise prices, and cost as much as $5 billion a day, per JPMorgan estimates. Referring to the union’s ability to block imports and threaten the US economy if an agreement isn’t reached, the ILA’s chief negotiator, Harold Daggett, said last month, “I will cripple you.”

Behind the strike: While the union is digging its heels in for a pay bump (it wants a 77% wage increase over six years), the core rift between the workers and the ports is over automation:

• Port operators are gung-ho on full automation—using cranes and trucks to move containers—and say that it would reduce the number of workers needed in what is considered a dangerous, chaotic, and physically taxing job.
• Dockworkers view these machines as a direct threat to their livelihoods and want ports to agree to a ban on automation.

As it stands…in the US, only three terminals, all in California, are considered fully automated, and there are dueling reports as to what extent their conversion hurt workers.

• According to a report financed by the West Coast dockworkers union, automation eliminated 572 jobs, or 5% of the workforce, in 2020 and 2021.
• Another study done at UC Berkeley commissioned by port operators found that between 2015 and 2023, paid hours for port union members went up more than 11%. On average, dockworkers make over $150,000 a year.

Big picture: The ILA strike parallels other industries’ calls for assurances against technology, like the SAG-AFTRA strike last year, when actors sought protections against studios replacing them with AI.—CC

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Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel. The Israeli military said ~180 missiles—most of which were intercepted—were fired at Israel from Iran last night as millions of Israelis took cover in bomb shelters. A US defense official said Navy destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea helped Israel shoot down the missiles. There were no reports of casualties in Israel, except for one Palestinian man killed by falling shrapnel in the West Bank. Around the same time the missiles were launched, six people were killed and others were injured in a shooting near Tel Aviv that Israeli police described as a terrorist attack. Iran said the missile attack was retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel vowed a “significant response.”

Tim Walz and JD Vance squared off in the VP debate. In what is likely the final debate of the 2024 campaign, the VP contenders kept things civil and policy-focused, channeling most of their attacks to the candidates running at the top of the ticket—not each other. Walz appeared nervous in the early stages of the night, but grew stronger when the topic turned to abortion and reproductive rights. Vance was a polished speaker across the 90 minutes of the debate, which was hosted by CBS News, but notably refused to concede that former President Trump lost the 2020 election. The campaigns are now in a sprint to the finish: Roughly five weeks remain until Election Day and millions of Americans can now cast their ballots.

CVS is laying off nearly 3,000 workers as it reportedly considers a breakup. The healthcare giant is conducting a strategic review as its stock has fallen more than 20% this year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Its troubles are partly due to incurring higher medical costs for its private Medicare business than anticipated. The strategic review could yield no major changes, or it could lead to a breakup of the company’s insurance and retail businesses. CVS, which has already promised investors $2 billion in cuts, announced this week that it plans to lay off 2,900 workers.—AE

Hurricane Helene devastated communities across western North Carolina and five other states, and damage in one small Appalachian town could impact the tech industry globally.

The storm ravaged a linchpin locality in semiconductor production: Spruce Pine, North Carolina, a mining town that is the world’s only natural source of the highest-purity quartz sand. The material is crucial to making silicon wafers that underpin the chips powering tech from smartphones to AI data centers.

Vital node

In the aftermath of catastrophic flooding, the extent of the destruction at the quartz mines is unknown, but roads and rail lines used to access the mining facilities were severely damaged.

• The two companies that operate quartz mines in the area, Quartz Corp. and Sibelco, have not provided a timeline for restarting operations.
• Sibelco has reportedly sent its customers “force majeure” notices forfeiting future liability for any unfulfilled orders, per Sky News.

While Brazil and Russia also export quartz, Spruce Pine’s quartz sand is unmatched in purity and plentifulness, according to journalist and rare earth metals wonk Ed Conway.

Looking ahead…experts say that wafer-makers likely have some Spruce Pine quartz stashed away, and there are ways to purify inferior quartz, but a prolonged disruption might lead to more expensive electronics.—SK

The likelihood of your random roommate at Stanford having “the third” after their name just went down. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill this week banning the consideration of family or donor connections, otherwise known as “legacy admissions,” at all public and private universities in the state.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision last year to strike down affirmative action in college admissions, attention is turning to the debate around legacy admissions and whether or not to make the higher-ed playing field more equal. The new law requires the institutions to report all admissions data, and those found in violation will, essentially, be publicly shamed (there’s no financial penalty).

Admissions offices argue that legacy consideration is a net benefit because the money families donate to the college can be funneled into financial aid. Critics say the legacy process favors white applicants and only pads the school’s already ballooning endowments.

• Economists are divided on whether legacy admissions = more donations.
• The practice’s origins stem from colleges in the 1920s fearing that more Jewish, Catholic, and immigrant students would take spots from wealthy Protestant students.

Big picture: California becomes the second state to ban the practice at both public and private colleges after Maryland, while Illinois, Colorado, and Virginia have outlawed it at just public universities.—MM

The only things some US politicians get done more than “nothing” are steaks. According to a deeply comprehensive history of lawmakers’ century-old obsession with steakhouses, what once was a bipartisan affinity for wining and dining over a bone-in ribeye has turned into a GOP-dominated pastime. Republican PACs spent $762,000 at the Capital Grille steakhouse this election season, per OpenSecrets data, compared with just $59,000 by Democrats. PACs for Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise dropped $130,000 at the Pennsylvania Avenue restaurant on their own. One theory: As DC becomes more polarized, Republicans have ensconced themselves in traditional establishments, while Democrats prefer a more eclectic food scene.—AE