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?

[ReadMyMind]

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.

The gripe I'm hearing is "someone is holding the US Economy Hostage for their personal profit."

The PMA has convinced the media that it is the union. The reality is that it is the PMA holding the economy hostage. A slowdown, whether it is good, bad, or inbetween was in place and did not cause a big problem for the rest of the US economy. A lockout, the PMA response to the slowdown has caused a problem for the rest of the economy. The PMA is to blame, not the Union.

[RooRoobird14]

Well, I guess that longshoreman @sshole was justified in nearly blowing my friend's head off, wasn't he?

[RooRoobird14]

Well, I guess that longshoreman @sshole was justified in nearly blowing my friend's head off, wasn't he?

[Leper Messiah]

Yea, I think there are some BOONdocks there. ;-)

[YoungKentuckyConservative]

Marxism! AKA, the LABOR Party. AKA, the UNION Party. AKA, the Communists. People, everything that is wrong can practically be explained by the Communist Manifesto. Understand thy enemy and you'll understand nearly everything the media wants you to swallow. After all, the media is the apex of Marxism.

[Fabozz]

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

Sure we do—I've done it three times already. The difference is that, when some dumb schmuck came along to replace me after I quit, I didn't break his kneecaps, because I was too busy making more money somewhere else. The only power unions have is that acquired through violence and coercion; unions are cartels, and cartels cannot succeed without using force to prevent defection. Whether it's a rock thrown by a striker enforcing a picket line, or a gun held by a policeman enforcing socialist pro-union laws, the bottom line is that unions take by force what they cannot get through honest effort. If you want to feel proud of that, go right ahead—DU is just down the hall to the left, and I'm sure they'll be all too happy to join you in a few dozen choruses of The Internationale.

[xsrdx]

Heck, $80,000 to $100,000 a year doesn't allow you to live high in Texas.

So figure their income is $80k annually after taxes, benefits, etc. That leaves about $6700 a month to scrape by. Big house? $2500 a month. Nice car? $800 a month. Two you say? Call it $1500. Insurance, utilities, gas, lunch, say another $1500. Still leaves $1200 to spend on BMW accessories, nights at the opera, trips to Bermuda and maybe a boat.

$100k is a lotta dough for manual labor.

[agarrett]

I have a problem with their unAmerican attitude, that they have so little respect or care for their fellow countrymen.

  An interesting angle. Do you apply it to management as well? After all, if stopping the shipping is hurting the economy, etc, shouldn't they agree to the union's demands to keep things going? Why doesn't the same data indicate that they're the ones being selfish, hurting the Republicans, and so forth?

  For that matter, should pharmaceutical companies give in to pressure to sell their drugs at cost? Lives are at stake, after all, and they're just concerned about their profits? How can they be so selfish?

  I can probably go on all day on this, but I trust the point is made. People bargain with what they have, and the best time to drive a good (or great) bargain is when you hold the cards. Right now, the union does, and they're trying to get the best deal they can - same as any company does. Give it a rest.

Drew Garrett

[Fabozz]

"Well, I guess that longshoreman @sshole was justified in nearly blowing my friend's head off, wasn't he?"

Oh yes, absolutely—that's been well established in American law. Unions cannot exist without thugism, so pro-union violence is always justified. The United States v. Emmons Supreme Court decision in 1973 is the best example of this: The Court ruled that violence "to achieve legitimate union objectives, such as higher wages in return for genuine services which the employer seeks" is not a crime.

[proud to be breathing]

Airline pilots, Boeing engineers,technical writers, teachers are are just of the few white collar people I can think of that have struck.

[RooRoobird14]

Keep in mind most of union thugs earning $80-$120K/year barely made it through high school and basically perform unskilled "butt labor."

....their overpaid jobs are the best thing that ever happened or will happen to them.

[VOA]

I'm in no way in agreement with the dock workers, but their high salary might be a
reflection of the cost of living on the West Coast.

While reasonable, the case is that these union guys (and gals) have engineered
incredible deals, while the dock managers have not pushed hard enough to go
forward with new technology (which will require about 1/4 the number of longshorepersons
and bringing in tech people to run the databases that will make the docks hum).

I first read in The Los Angeles Times about the salaries of these longshorepersons...
and wondered why the heck I ever went to college.

[discostu]

The act of agreeing ot tte sale (which isn't actually the sale itself) is a binding contract that sets the price the seller will charge the buyer. Sales tax is not incurred until the "debt" is incurred, which is at the time of the delivery of the goods. Since sales tax is not technically charged by the seller (legally the seller is acting as an agent of the government) it's not a binding part of the purchase order/ sales agreement.

Ahh, stupid things you learn testing accounting software.

[hosepipe]

What happening with the lawn-shoremen you ask!;

Well their just luddites.... protecting their graft, ugh!.. jobs... democrats mostly, bleeding and rapeing the shippers who in turn pass it on to us. Mostly like the DNC, lawyers, Doctors, and Accountants do.. Sometimes an Accountant is a lawyer also... you need to really watch out for those guys.

Although some think their Marxists, I don't, they really are just mobsters with a protection racket, you know like the DNC. Socialism is of course just a proctection racket, gone National. Kinda silly looting just one city when you could loot a nation, know what I mean. The lawn-shoremen offer protection by stealing less from the containers(they unload) to the shippers that pay more under the table.

What really pissed them off was the shippers wanted bar-code the containers so they keep track of what was stolen, an invertory kind of thing. They'll just kill a coupla shippers wives and/or children and everything will be back in order pretty soon. Have no fear...

** pray for canada...

[nutmeg]

bump

[MEGoody]

I would agree that unions were absolutely necessary when they first began, but frankly, they have gotten to be ridiculous. I can see why these longshoremen are nervous. They couldn't go anywhere else and get that kind of money with no education. Nevertheless, in this time of global competition, they need to understand that companies have to become more efficient and cut costs. Yes, some of them might lose their jobs and have to find others. But if they don't allow the company to manage it's costs, there might not be any jobs. Sadly, the vast majority of union people I meet aren't interested in giving a good day's work for a day's pay. They are only interested in figuring out new ways to screw the company they work for.

[MEGoody]

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

This may be the truth - but it's also the truth that the union workers were on a work slow down big time. That's not good faith bargaining - it's spoiled little kids having a temper tantrum.

[RooRoobird14]

Unions today live by this creed: "Less work for more pay."

[clamper1797]

I'm curious ... I have two friends who are longshoreman in Oakland and they say they don't make anywhere near this kind of money. Is it just certain job descriptions that make this money or is it everyone ????

[OPS4]

Now that this is being exposed, the union will have its toes put to the political fire. Investigations will abound.

maybe these workers dont know it yet but they like so many others in this country have just killed the Golden Goose,
sympathy for management is now going to rise.

Ops4 God Bless America!