Approximately 25,000 Docker workers on strike At ports along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast, workers are rallying for higher wages and stronger guardrails for jobs that will be automated and disappear.
Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the union representing longshoremen, walked off the job on Tuesday. first time ILA President Harold Daggett said in a social media post on Tuesday that this is the first time in nearly 50 years that the group is calling for “the pay we deserve.”
Union officials say these wages should factor in the rampant inflation that has eroded longshoremen’s pay under their now-expired labor contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents port and shipping companies. I am doing it. While the industry benefits, longshore workers “continue to be crippled by inflation due to USMX’s unfair wage packages,” the ILA said in a statement.
How much do longshore workers earn?
Only workers are allowed at 2 p.m. Eastern and coastal ports are on strike;West Coast longshoremen are part of a separate union that has negotiated a significant pay increase for its members in 2023. ILA members’ incomes are significantly lower than those on the other side of the country.
Longshore workers’ salaries are based on years of experience. Under ILA’s previous contract with USMX, which expired on Monday, longshoremen had a starting wage of $20 an hour. After two years of service, the hourly wage increases to $24.75, and after three years, the hourly wage rises to $31.90, topping out at $39 for workers with six or more years of service.
The union is demanding a 77% raise over six years, or the equivalent of a $5-an-hour increase for each term of the contract. Under the union’s proposal, workers would receive $44 in the first year of the contract, $49 in the second year and up to $69 in the final year.
“I think this working group has significant bargaining power,” said Harry Katz, a professor of collective bargaining at Cornell University. “They are essential workers who cannot be replaced, and our ports are doing well.”
What is your typical annual income?
This top-end wage of $39 an hour equates to just over $81,000 a year, but longshoremen can earn even more by taking on additional shifts. For example, about one-third of local longshore workers earned more than $200,000 a year, according to the New York Harbor Waterfront Commission’s 2019-20 annual report.
A more typical longshoreman’s salary can exceed $100,000, but that doesn’t mean they don’t log significant overtime hours. Daggett, the ILA president, claims these high earners work up to 100 hours a week.
Across the industry, including non-union jobs, some longshoremen earn much less, about $53,000 a year, according to job site Indeed.
USMX said late Monday that its latest proposal would raise wages for longshoremen by nearly 50%, triple employer contributions to employee retirement plans and expand health coverage, while also adding existing safeguards against automation. announced that it would also be maintained.
contributed to this report.