What is the deal with the dock workers earning 100K+?

Me

[solmar_israel]

On all these newscasts dealing with the strike at the ports, I keep hearing that these dock workers make between $80,000-$160,000.

Does anyone else find that a little strange? Why exactly are they striking?

No one seems to be asking how exactly these guys are getting paid like this... I know surgeons that don't make this kind of money.

Can anyone fill me in?

[Hank Kerchief]

Me. I'm in a union [read "gang" or "mob"] and as long as the owners will keep paying [read "paying off thugs"] i'll keep earning [read "extorting] it too!

There is something essentially wrong, both psychologically and morally, with anyone who has to belong to a gang to be worth anything.

Thanks for warning us about what you are.

Hank

[gueroloco]

Interesting story. Certainly no excuse to pull a gun, but why would a tax increase be added between sale and delivery? Would not the act of sale itself constitute a binding contract, one where the price and taxes have been agreed upon? Just curious.

[McGavin999]

Many people on this board say, "I don't make so much, neither should they!" How very Russian*. A more capitalist, rational and self-interested response would be "Good for them. Now how can I make so much?"

I have no problem with what they're making. I DO have a problem with the fact that they are willing to shut down the US economy, in the middle of wartime, in order to make sure they keep jobs for some future generation. I have a problem with the fact that farmers and ranchers have worked all year to send out their harvests and they are left rotting on the pier. I have a problem with the fact that thousands of workers all over this country were about to get laid off for no good reason at all. I have a problem with the fact that they HAVE to be aware of what's happening to our economy right now and that doesn't seem to matter to them at all. I have a problem with their unAmerican attitude, that they have so little respect or care for their fellow countrymen.

[PatriotBill]

Hey Greedy Mayor...I'm self-employed and I don't get paid at all if I don't sell and collect from my customer...plus, I pay for all my own retirement and insurance...you wouldn't know hard work and risk taking if they kicked you in the duff...Unions are full of thugs and lazy vermin with your same mindset...sorry, did I wake you from your nap at work?!

[Rockitz]

...and it would seem that the DNC had something to do with this strike.

I suspected something like this from the DNC. Look for other landmines to go off coming into the election. They have obstructed the homeland defense bill, which would have done a lot to heal the economy. This strike is just another obstructionist measure. The Dems care nothing about this country. They are truly evil.

[AppyPappy]

this implies that crane operators and laborers are making $50 an hour

How much do they make?

{{ Crickets }}

[ReadMyMind]

The union did not go on strike. The PMA did lock them out. The PMA has shut down the ports, not the union.

The union said, essentially, we're going to make it less profitable for the PMA to operate until they capitulate. The PMA responded by saying essentially, we won't accept lower profit levels or the union's position. We'll shut the docks down and hold the whole economy hostage.

The PMA is doing a really good job on the PR front. They've locked out the union and a big segment of majority Americans are blaming the union for it.

[McGavin999]

Gee, you suppose that's because the union called a slow down. You know what that is, where you do half the work for full pay? Yeah, most Americans will LOVE that stuff.

[ladyinred]

I don't know if this has anything to do with it or not, but the cost of living in the southern Cal area is very high, therefore the wages there reflect that in all areas with the exception of those who are on minimum wage.

[Lazamataz]

Are there any docks in the Midwest? I could use that kind of money!!!

[Dionysius]

I wonder how many "no show" and "no work" jobs are allocated to LCN.

[Mr_Mayor]

"I'm self-employed and I don't get paid at all if I don't sell and collect from my customer...plus, I pay for all my own retirement and insurance"

I pay for my own health care and also my own retirement. There is no free ride in the construction unions. No work no pay, no paid holidays 40 for 40. Do you think this stuff is free. Here again we have a typical American that doesn't understand unions. There are so many errors made when people talk about things that they nothing about. If people would go and look at what unions are really about and why they came to be then there would be lot of different attitudes concerning them. Then again that would require work and the ignorant and lazy white collar world forgot how to do that. I am amazed at how people can precieve that all unions are bad when the only one can see anything wrong with is the teachers union. I think they should all be shot on site!

[Mr_Mayor]

"White collar guys don't go on strike."

Yeah, they don't have the b*lls to walk out and tell their boss to kiss the butts.

[Mr_Mayor]

"Unions are evil."

Yeah, typical ignorant American opinion from one that probably knows nothing about unions. Unions have helped this country more than you think. Without them you might still be making 2.35 an hour at your white collared job while the owner takes all the money to the bank and laughs at you on the way.

[dfwgator]

Methinks the dock workers are going to price themselves out of a job. Companies have discovered they can ship cheaper to ports in Mexico, then simply truck the goods over the border.

[Mr_Mayor]

"Thanks for warning us about what you are"
Just because i am in a union doesn't make me evil or bad. It just means that in my profession i have choosen a better paying path than your typical non union construction worker that has to work saturdays all year just to make end meet.

[Mr_Mayor]

"The union did not go on strike. The PMA did lock them out. The PMA has shut down the ports, not the union. The union said, essentially, we're going to make it less profitable for the PMA to operate until they capitulate. The PMA responded by saying essentially, we won't accept lower profit levels or the union's position. We'll shut the docks down and hold the whole economy hostage. The PMA is doing a really good job on the PR front. They've locked out the union and a big segment of majority Americans are blaming the union for it. "

THANK YOU FOR TELLING THE TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr_Mayor]

"True story which will give you an idea about the kind of people who make up the longshoreman's union"

Hey, your buddy quoted a price and thats the price. If he screwed up then shame on him. He should never have demanded the extra money. I would have told him, no thinks keep your computers due to your inept sales policies. If i quote you a price thats the price not what you dream up later down the road. No matter what the quoted price is the price!

[nanny]

"but their high salary might be a reflection of the cost of living on the West Coast."

I have never been to california, but from all accounts, it is very expensive to live there. To me, it would seem 100,000 a year would not permit you to 'live high on the hog', so to speak. Heck, $80,000 to $100,000 a year doesn't allow you to live high in Texas.

I am not now, nor have I ever been a fan or member of a union.

Of course, I don't know why no one thinks a person who works blue collar should not make a decent living.

[ArrogantBustard]

would have told him, no thinks keep your computers due to your inept sales policies.

Would you have followed that statement with an act of assault with a deadly weapon? Inquiring minds...