The longshoremen of the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico have won. After six years, they will have a 62% salary increase and will finally earn $63 an hour compared to the current $39. This remuneration is more than seven times higher than the federal hourly minimum wage in the United States, set at $7.25.
In the midst of the election campaign, Joe Biden, who rightly proclaims himself as the most “pro-union” president in the history of the United States, celebrated this decision. “Collective bargaining works and is essential to building a stronger economy, from the bottom up”estimated.
The Democratic president was unable, under his watch, to increase the federal minimum wage, unchanged since 2009, even when Democrats controlled, in 2020, both houses of Congress. The increase achieved during the administration of George W. Bush and Barack Obama changed nothing. Only the law of the market allowed an increase in wages.
Institutionalized overtime
Stevedores’ salaries are high. Until now, the maximum hourly wage was theoretically $39, or $81,000 a year. But overtime is institutionalized. A New York State survey found that 55% of New York Harbor dock workers earned more than $150,000 in 2019-2020, and one-third earned more than $200,000 per year. The increase granted on Thursday should lead to a proportional increase in salaries. According to employers, the average real salary for a full-time dockworker on the Pacific Coast is currently $233,000.
The employer’s offer is lower than the 77% increase demanded by the port workers. The power of the latter was considerable, less than a month before the presidential elections. With automation, labor costs have become very low compared to port turnover. The ports negotiated in particular with the global giants of freight transport (the Danish Maersk, the German Hapag-Lloyd, the French CMA-CGM). In a period of heightened nationalism in the United States, unions could count on the benevolence of political authorities toward non-American companies.
“I want to thank union workers, shippers and port operators for acting patriotically to reopen our ports and ensure the availability of essential supplies for recovery and reconstruction after Hurricane Helene.”Mr. Biden said. Donald Trump estimated this week that the strike “it would never have happened” if he had been in the White House.
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