How much money do dockworkers make a year? East and Gulf Coast longshoremen’s salary

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the union representing more than port workers currently on strike, has not budged from its negotiating position and has received assurances that the White House will not intervene to end the strike for now. The strike will have sweeping economic impacts if it drags on, but the Biden administration has made clear that the ball is in the court of the companies to reach a fair deal.

In a statement released by the White House, President Biden called on the United Maritime Alliance (USMX), the organization representing the container carrier companies, to negotiate in good faith and offer a contract that “reflects the substantial contribution they’ve been making to our economic comeback.”

“Ocean carriers have made record profits since the pandemic and in some cases profits grew in excess of 800 percent compared to their profits prior to the pandemic,” said President Biden. The statement notes that “executive compensation has grown in line with those profits,” and shareholders have also been compensated.’

How much do ILA members make a year?

Assuming that the dock workers only ever worked during hours where they are paid these rates (many don’t as mornings, nights, and weekends are paid at higher rates), they would make an annual salary of:

However, since ports are required to be online nearly 24 hours a day, ILA members have fought for hours outside of what is considered the traditional workday be paid at higher rates. Overtime is paid at time and a half, while shifts that include hours before 8:00 AM or after 5:00 pm are paid at 1.25 a worker’s hourly rate. On weekends and holidays, ILA members are paid time and a half.

Various news outlets and organizations have pointed to the high wages, in some cases above $100,000, paid to ILA members as a way to undermine the strike. However, when it comes to the labor movement and workers flexing their power, neogications are based on sharing in the profits generated by workers, with past pay only being an influencing factor as talks unfold. It is anti-worker to believe that because someone reaches a certain income level, they don’t deserve any additional increases. If the labor of a company’s workers produces record-breaking profits, then they should not be shut out from sharing in those gains. In the case of the ILA members, they have the collective bargaining power to demand that they share more than $400 billion in profits seen by USMX’s members since 2020.

The ILA has said they are looking to see wages increase by 77 percent over the life of the contract. On October 1, USMX said that they are willing to offer a fifty percent increase.