The dockworkers’ strike recently came to an end with a temporary deal in place until January, when the International Longshoremen’s Association will renegotiate with the U.S. Maritime Alliance.
The temporary deal ensures the strike won’t be a factor in the November presidential election, in which Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are trying to appeal to working-class voters.
Here are some of the details of that deal.
About 45,000 dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts will receive a 62% pay raise over six years as part of the agreement that needs to be renegotiated by Jan. 15. The previous raise offered to the workers was about 50%, while they were aiming for a 77% increase.
Because of the raise, the highest-paid dockworkers will make $63 per hour, or about $131,040 per year, at the end of the current deal negotiated. They’ll likely get a further increase, given their leverage over the economy.
Dockworkers are critical for goods to enter the United States and for shipments to run smoothly.
“I think this work group has a lot of bargaining power,” Harry Katz, a professor of collective bargaining at Cornell University, told CBS News. “They’re essential workers that can’t be replaced, and also the ports are doing well.”
If they receive the 77% pay raise, the highest-paid dockworkers can make up to $69 an hour, or about $143,000 a year. That would be significantly more than the $39 an hour that high-paid workers earn now.
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President Joe Biden breathed a sigh of relief after their tentative agreement was announced, though more roadblocks may come late in his term or with whoever is elected president.
“We’ve been working hard on it,” he said. “With the grace of God, it’s gonna hold.”
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
