>> The union says it has reached a tentative agreement on wages and will go back to work on Friday until 15 January, when they will return to the bargaining table to negotiate "all other outstanding issues".
>> Under a tentative agreement workers’ wages would go up by 62% over the next six years, according to US media reports. The union had been calling for a 77% wage hike, while USMX had previously increased its pay rise offer to almost 50%.
Hmm, if a +8.4% yearly wage increase was feasible, then it seems like workers were being underpaid relative to the profit their work generated.
They were being paid according to the previous contract negotiated in 2018, which included a ~11% wage increase over the duration.
https://www.usmx.com/assets/content/public-resources/2018-20...
11% over 6 years? that's basically a cost of living adjustment. No wonder they are so outraged.
For people who don't want to click the earlier duration was 6 years
Most people are underpaid if we consider the global 'productivity-pay gap' phenomenon (since the 1970s, wages haven't been growing as much as productivity)...
more like 7.2% if it's compounding (important distinction. Especially if they are going to try to "layoff" people in the next 1-2 years).
But yes, a large part of the argument was the wages not keeping up with the crazy inflation at all. inflation surged to 8.3% in 2022 so this isn't necessarily some crazy pay raise as opposed to getting back what they were making pre-pandemic.
1.072^6 would be an effective 51.8% total raise after six years, no?
Oh yeah, you're right. I was calculating off the original deal of 50% before they raised it to 62%. Apologies.
Full disclosure: I originally eyeballed it, then felt bad about being imprecise, double checked my memory of the compounding formula, and calculated it out. ;)
The ports in Florida were being to be re-opened by FL National Guard troops. That likely would've ended the longshoreman's union.
From my reading, the troops were deployed to protect non-union scabs, not to actually do the work.
Not sure how much of a modern port would be instantly runnable by reservists.
How much of it would be instantly runnable by new-hire replacement workers?
I expect they wouldn't be new hires.
They'd be "Have experience with ____ machinery" workers.
So probably retired union and/or folks from out of state.
> The ports in Florida were being to be re-opened by FL National Guard troops. That likely would've ended the longshoreman's union.
Rockefeller did set a precedent when he used mashine guns to end a strike.