Labor dispute halts Mardi Gras bead shipments
Source: WWLTV
NEW ORLEANS - A labor dispute in California is turning into a possible Carnival crisis. Delays at a Los Angeles port has thousands of signature Mardi Gras beads on back order and local businesses are now concerned the throws will not make it in time for Mardi Gras.
Krewes spend all year making, designing and buying throws for Mardi Gras, but right now much of that is just sitting in containers on the West Coast.
"It's about 20 percent of what we would normal bring in that is not here now," says Dan Kelly, president of Beads By The Dozen. "Unfortunately, a lot of it is the custom product we need for the krewes."
Kelly ships up to 150 containers of beads to his store every year and most of them pass through the port in Los Angeles, but, like other businesses, he is stuck in the middle of a bitter contract dispute between dock workers and the shipping companies.
FULL story AND video at link.
Read more: http://www.wwltv.com/story/news/2015/01/23/labor-dispute-halts-mardi-gras-bead-shipments/22245637/
= new reply since forum marked as read
The West Bank had their first parade yesterday I believe. 
Last edited Sun Jan 25, 2015, 09:03 PM - Edit history (1)
Many beads in China are made by kids working with toxic fumes and no breathing protection. When you sweat in hotter weather, the moisture on your skin helps absorb the many different toxins at a faster rate. The same goes for the wearers skin contact at Mardi Gras.
Photo Credit: Thinkstock.com
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/02/26/ann-arbor-group-finds-toxic-chemicals-in-mardi-gras-beads/
February 26, 2014 9:27 AM
ANN ARBOR (WWJ) – Dangerous levels of lead, other toxic metals and toxic flame retardants were found in most Mardi Gras beads tested by Ann Arbor’s Ecology Center.
“We were shocked at the level of halogenated flame retardants in these products,” said Jeff Gearhart, the Ecology Center’s principal researcher on the project. “There’s no requirement to include them in there.”
Some of the chemicals found in testing the beads are cancer-causing agents, while others are neurotoxins. Where they came from was a mystery until Ecology Center researchers looked at them under an electron microscope at Hope College in Holland.
“When we split the beads apart and looked at them under a microscope, you can actually see chunks of recycled printed circuit board and electronic waste in these,” Gearhart said.
FULL story at link.
They dont' give a flying fk who gets hurt. 
Everybody's got a damn trunkful of beads. They're really hard to let go of. 
When he says "container" this is what he means...
This is going to sound like a weird question so I apologize if it is: Why, exactly, would you bring 150 TEUs worth of Mardi Gras throws through the Port of Los Angeles or the Port of Long Beach when there is a massive container port that receives freight from China in New Orleans?
