On Mon, 27 Apr 2015 13:43:18 -0600, "W. Lohman" > wrote:

> On 4/27/2015 1:31 PM, sf wrote:
> > On Mon, 27 Apr 2015 13:09:40 -0600, "W. Lohman" > wrote:
> >
> >> How can a dock worker justify $144K/year?
> >
> > That's a matter of overtime.
>
> Not really.
>
> That was the average salary.
>
> http://shippingwatch.com/Ports/article5762950.ece
> American longshoremen, who are members of a union, earn far more than
> the average worker in the U.S. In this week’s SeaIntel Sunday Spotlight,
> SeaIntel is putting focus on the issue.
>
> “Given that the current master contract between the ILWU (International
> Longshore and Warehouse Union) and the terminal operators will expire in
> June next year, and given that the port labor unions in the US have a
> substantial power base, we have decided to take a closer look at the US
> port labor unions in general and the wage-developments of the
> dockworkers in particular,” writes SeaIntel in an analysis.
>
> The analyst firm has compared salary data from Pacific Maritime
> Association’s (PMA) homepage with the average salary in the U.S.
> According to the website, the longshoremen on the U.S. West Coast earn
> an average of 98,603 USD a year including two and a half weeks of
> vacation on average. The earnings are about six times as much as the
> minimum wage in California and more than double the 42,000 USD including
> bonuses, which is the average salary for all Americans, according to
> Silicon Valley Index.
>
> A significant part of the longshoremen’s wages are the so-called
> royalties for each container handled, and these royalties constituted a
> crucial point in the negotiations six months ago when a strike nearly
> shut down 14 ports on the U.S. East Coast.
>
> SeaIntel notes that members of the union ILWU receive a benefits package
> costing just under 50,000 USD per employee. This package includes fully
> paid health care.
>
> http://www.pmanet.org/the-ilwu-workforce
>
> Wages
> ILWU workers receive a compensation package that is among the most
> lucrative among all blue-collar workers in the United States. Full-time
> workers earn an average of $147,000 annually in wages, along with a
> non-wage benefits package costing more than $82,000 per active worker
> per year.
>
> Health Benefits
> The ILWU benefits package includes fully paid health care for workers,
> retirees and their families with no premiums, no in-network deductibles
> and 100 percent coverage of basic hospital, medical and surgical
> benefits. Prescription drugs are covered for $1 per prescription; dental
> and vision care are provided to workers, retirees and their families at
> little or no cost.
>
> Pensions
> Workers are also eligible for a pension that has seen major upgrades in
> recent years, with a current maximum benefit of nearly $80,000 per year.
> Workers have access to a 401(k) savings plan with an employer
> contribution, as well as 13 paid holidays each year and up to six weeks
> of paid vacation.

OIC, you're using that old saw of putting benefit packages together
and calling it a salary.
>
> > Employers need to hire more workers.
>
> Possibly.


--

sf