What do you get when you cross Michael Corleone with a Union Boss? ILA President Harold J. Daggett:
I started the video at the headline grabbing part, but the whole interview is worth a watch.
Is it only me thinking that a huge strike like he mentions only speeds up the automation he is fighting?
I suspect he understands it is inevitable, but will try to get paid even though the jobs end up automated away.
Looks like the union won and will get their 62% pay rise!
The new contract was ratified in March:
The new contract, which is retroactive to Oct. 1, 2024 and will be in effect until Sept. 30, 2030, boosts the hourly base rate for workers to $63 from $39, ranking longshoremen among the highest paid blue-collar workers in the country.
It accelerates wage raises for new ILA workers, strengthens healthcare plans and also increases employer contributions to retirement plans, while safeguarding workers from threats of increased automation.
ILA President Harold Daggett has said the new contract will cost employers an estimated $35 billion, “and that’s a conservative estimate”.
“Our collective strength helped produce the richest contract in our history,” he said in a video to the members of the union last week.
Over five years. And the current $39 is the highest current rate, it isn’t the average or starting rate.
$39 is f32 about 20% more than a cleaning lady earns here. People should be entitled to a living wage.
What is the purpose of this thread? Obviously longshoremen have more clout than most workers. The 61.5 % rise quoted is over six years. Better than many other workers will get, unionised or not. Probably insignificant compared to the effect on tariffs on the amount of and price of goods passing through the ports.
I’m really not sure what that comparison is supposed to show. The cleaning lady also deserves a living wage, are you suggesting that chf32 per hour is too low, or that the dockers are in some way more deserving?
This is nothing if not a nonsensical comparison. Just as a quick reminder, average income is $65k in the US vs $100k here.
$20-39 is just the base wage under the previous contract, that’s somewhat comparable to net pay here. The new base wage, assuming the 62% increase applies linearly to the entire range, is $32-$63. Though it would seem reasonable to assume that the lowest rungs gain less than that given that the $20 minimum didn’t increase under the pervious agreement.
An additional $16 per hour got contributed to the respective pot for pension, welfare, and fringe benefits. This is certain to be at least as much going forward.
So the maximum benefit per hour goes from $55 to at least $79, everybody earns that after six years.
Plus:
- Mon-Sat, hours worked outside the 8am to 5pm bracket carry 25% top-up on the base rate (there’s usually two shifts, 8-5pm and 6pm-3am, each including one unpaid meal hour)
- on weekends (sat&sun), public holidays, and on any day after 8 hours have been worked, a 50% top-up on the base wage applies