Longshoremans Union President explains simple strategy for strike.
This is profoundly macro for both the economy and the election
People don’t like Private Equity or Union Presidents.
intercst
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It’s October 2nd. Did they strike yesterday?
(Way to ingratiate yourself, Union Prez.)
I negotiated with a couple of this type. A total Samuel Gompers acolyte, maybe by bloodline, I don’t know. Of all the unions I dealt with (about a half dozen, mostly in or allied in broadcasting), only one was this truculent. Surprisingly, it was not the Teamsters (but perhaps that was because they had such a small contingent in our business.)
No, this one was IBEW, and in the end we came to agreement on terms that were pretty fair to both sides, but only after a lot of posturing and name-calling (for effect for his membership, I always suspected).
Counterproductive, I thought, but sometimes that’s how it is. I found the other unions to be pretty realistic, even if their rhetoric was a bit hyper at times.
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IBEW once got on my case for moving an oscilloscope from one bench to another (at AT&T Bell Labs in the 80s). Thereafter, I shut the door before moving any equipment around.
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Just going over some of this stuff with some people, especially in light of the VP debate. I’m seeing this recent surge in Labor-Union-positivity and a small but palpable turn of the tide towards working folks, potentially evaporate as the morning dew in the Summer sun due to insufficiently sized britches, and a tone deafness that just won’t be tolerated in the modern world. It’s not the 1920’s any more.
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What they are missing appear to be the facts.
The max hourly rate per the current contract is $39 an hour. Multiply that by 40x52 and you get $81k.
Page 2:
Effective October 1, 2023, employees who were employed as of
September 30, 2023, and who are receiving a straight-time basic wage
rate of $38.00 per hour as of September 30, 2023, shall receive an
increase of $1.00 per hour in their straight-time basic wage rate.
You can find a chart on page 3.
I read the following that claimed a much higher rate, but they don’t supply a link to the data to verify:
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What they are missing appear to be the facts.
The max hourly rate per the current contract is $39 an hour. Multiply that by 40x52 and you get $81k.
As with the case for other labor battles, it can be very difficult to parse the claims being made by both sides. Managment figures citing workers making nearly $190,000 per year might be referencing a senior position who is working a metric crap ton of overtime (as many did during COVID impairments). But those top earnings can be decieving because they don’t reflect the distribution of workers by seniority or job title.
It’s the equivalent of someone making an argument that people at YOUR company are overpaid because the top workers make $190,000 when that is only 5% of the workforce and the rest average $61,000 and will never get more than a 3% raise every year.
These contracts also often reflect concessions from prior contract rounds that may have grandfathered high seniority workers in at older (higher) pay scales while creating a much lower pay scale for new workers who can never jump to that grandfathered tier. If the company continues citing how much a top worker in the grandfathered scale can make, that’s not being honest.
In the case of these longshoremen workers, another subtle aspect of their contract is the nominal pay scale starting at $39/hour only applies once a worker has SIX YEARS of time on the job. The ACTUAL starting wage is $20/hour and it ramps up to the “starting wage” of $39 over the six years.
More if you care to read here:
WTH
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Putting down my marker - My bet is that this will not be resolved by the election. Management will likely find it in their own interests to delay in the hope that either the lame duck admin or a new admin (especially one that is more anti-union) will force the union back to work.
This is a lose-lose for the current admin and their only saving grace is that by the time we get any lagging reporting on just how much this is hurting the economy, the election will be over. Leads me to think that the union has a short window to get what they want.
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I bet CEOs are already raising prices citing the Longshoreman’s strike as the cause. You’ll probably start seeing the affect in 2 weeks.
That’s why they call it greedflation.
intercst
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There are plenty of ways to skew the numbers: add in what the company pays in to the pension fund, and retirement medical. Add in what the company pays for current employee benefits like medical and vacation. Add what the company pays for the employee’s FICA. Add what the company pays for workman’s comp. Years ago, when I was in grad school, the prof brought in some VP from US Steel. The VP was talking about how much USian labor costs. After the stated number, he always said “total employment cost”, which I took to mean he was adding in every cost the company had that could be connected, somehow, to having employees.
The real audience for stated wage rates, is the third party in the room: non-union workers who, over the last 30 years, in particular, saw their pay stagnate in real terms, if not fall, while the company took away the benefits it used to pay for. The intent, certainly of management, in inflating the stated wage rates, is to generate resentment of unions and their “coddled workers”, who “make everything you want cost more”.
Steve
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While some may individually perceive some price increase and arbitrarily attribute it to the strike, we won’t have data supporting such a claim until mid November at the earliest.
So, of this is a ploy my management to basically a you imply, help elect a certain political party, why is The Union playing int their hands when it would be long term better to assist the pro-worker party?
Bananas will be the first very visible example. They are shipped on a strict schedule with about 10 days before they go bad when they arrive at the port.
I bet air shipped bananas are at least $2.50/lb. The one’s I bought yesterday were 50 cents/lb.
intercst
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When you are trying to make your truck payment or pay your alimony, electing one party over another is far less important than getting a new contract.
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$39.00/hour is the starting rate for a new employee
The more interesting number would be what a crane operator with 20 years service is getting. I bet that’s at least $250,000/yr before overtime.
After the new airline pilot union contracts, you’re starting to see 25-yr-olds making $400,000/yr
intercst
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I can dig it but still short sighted. In fact this could be a gordian knot. Strike now? = Increase chances of a less genial administration. Don’t strike now? Ok, no immediate contract, no raise, no truck payment but at least not rocking the boat in a way you’ll wish you hadn’t.
Dare I say it? Typical blue collar mentality. Can’t see more than 10 mins into the future. Sounds like a lot of people I grew up with.
Incorrect. Read the link.
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Yep, an average wage of $39/hour. Much different than starting rate.
Pete
Read the contract Hawkwin posted. It’s the “Base Wage”, not the average.
intercst