Wages and Salaries

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    Union Agrees to Suspend Port Strike

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    The International Longshoremen’s Association received a new wage offer and will halt its walkout at East and Gulf Coast ports, which began Tuesday.The International Longshoremen’s Association agreed on Thursday to suspend a strike that closed down major ports on the East and Gulf Coasts. The move followed an improved wage offer from port employers.The strike, which the dockworkers’ union began on Tuesday, threatened to weigh on the economy five weeks before national elections. Employers, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance, have offered to increase wages by 62 percent over the course of a new six-year contract, according to a person familiar with negotiations who did not want to be identified because the talks were continuing. That increase is lower than what the union had initially asked for, but much higher than the alliance’s earlier offer.In a statement, the union said that it had reached “a tentative agreement on wages” and that its 45,000 members would go back to work, with the current contract extended until Jan. 15. The union said it was returning to the bargaining table “to negotiate all other outstanding issues.” The alliance issued a similar statement.The agreement came after the White House pressed both sides to reach a deal to end the strike, the union’s first full-scale walkout since 1977. The wage increase is a clear victory for the I.L.A. and its combative president, Harold J. Daggett, a 78-year-old, third-generation dockworker who has led the union since 2011.President Biden, when asked about the tentative deal on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday evening, said: “We’ve been working hard on it. With the grace of God, it’s going to hold.”A 62 percent increase would raise the top longshoremen’s wage to just over $63 per hour at the end of a new six-year contract, from today’s $39 per hour. And at $63 an hour, the wages of East and Gulf Coast longshoremen would slightly exceed those that will be earned by West Coast longshoremen, who belong to a different union, at the end of their contract in 2027.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 125 Shares199 Views

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    Harold Daggett, Port Strike Leader, Seeks Big Raises for Dockworkers

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    Harold J. Daggett is seeking big raises for longshoremen on the East and Gulf Coasts who have fallen behind workers on the West Coast.Nearly two decades ago, Harold J. Daggett was accused of being part of the mob’s efforts to control a powerful union, the International Longshoremen’s Association.He was a midlevel official of the union. After a high-profile trial, a jury acquitted him of fraud and extortion conspiracy, and he joined reveling supporters outside the Brooklyn federal courthouse. Motioning toward the building, he asked onlookers, “What doorway do I have to go through to get my reputation back?”Now, after 13 years as the union’s president, Mr. Daggett is seeking a different type of victory.He is leading a strike that began on Tuesday, shutting down most trade at a dozen big ports on the East and Gulf Coasts. The union, whose members move containers and other cargo on and off ships, is demanding much higher wages, improved benefits and limits on labor-saving technology.Mr. Daggett has cast the strike as a battle against large multinational corporations that earned outsize profits during the pandemic-related supply chain chaos. He has asserted that his 47,000 members have the upper hand because their work is essential to the automakers, retailers and other businesses that depend on the ports.“We’re going to win this thing,” Mr. Daggett, 78, said on Tuesday, along with an expletive, as members picketed outside a port terminal in New Jersey. “They can’t survive too long.”Some labor experts say Mr. Daggett is well positioned to get a good deal. “If they stop working, the goods stop moving,” said William Brucher, an assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations. “They have real economic power and leverage.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 100 Shares159 Views

    in Economy

    Port Strike Begins on East and Gulf Coasts

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    Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association walked out for the first time since 1977 in a standoff over wages, benefits and job security.For the first time in nearly 50 years, longshoremen on the East and Gulf Coasts went on strike Tuesday, a move that will cut off most trade through some of the busiest U.S. ports and could send a chill through the economy.Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association union, which represents roughly 45,000 workers, started setting up pickets after 11th-hour talks failed to avert a work stoppage.“Nothing’s going to move without us — nothing,” said Harold J. Daggett, the president of the union, addressing picketers outside a port terminal in Elizabeth, N.J., in a video posted early Tuesday to a union Facebook account.The United States Maritime Alliance, which represents port employers, declined to comment early Tuesday. The two sides were not able to agree on wage increases, and the use of new technology in the ports was a sticking point for the union.“We think they’re lowballing intentionally,” Leonard Riley, a longshoreman at the Port of Charleston in South Carolina, said on Tuesday. “We are going to be out until we have something to chew on.”Businesses now face a period of uncertainty. Trade experts say that a short strike would cause little lasting damage but that a weekslong stoppage could lead to shortages, higher prices and even layoffs.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 138 Shares149 Views

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    Port Strike on the East and Gulf Coasts: What to Know

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    Thousands of dockworkers who load and unload cargo ships could walk off the job on Tuesday, halting nearly all activity at ports from Maine to Texas.Thousands of unionized dockworkers on the East and Gulf Coasts could go on strike as early as Tuesday, stranding cargo and sending ripples through supply chains for consumer goods and manufacturing parts.A contract between the operators of port terminals and the International Longshoremen’s Association, covering workers who load and unload cargo ships at three dozen ports, is set to expire on Monday. Their facilities include massive container ports in New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia and Texas, as well as the Port of Baltimore, a major hub for the import and export of vehicles and heavy machinery.The port operators group, the United States Maritime Alliance, and the union remain at an impasse over wage increases. Federal officials have said President Biden is not planning to invoke a nearly 80-year-old law to force dockworkers back to work if they strike. It would be the first such walkout at all these ports since 1977.Which ports and goods would be affected?Workers at ports from Maine to Texas would walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. These ports handle about half of all goods shipped to the United States in containers. One of them, the Port of New York and New Jersey, is the third busiest in the country.Longshoremen play a crucial role in the movement of cargo. They are responsible for loading and unloading ships, and they secure vessels that arrive and depart from U.S. ports. For the most part, ocean transport to and from these ports can’t happen without them.Cargo that could be affected by the strike includes everyday consumer goods, like bananas, many of which come through a port in Delaware. Just over half of imported apparel, footwear and accessories also come through East Coast ports. Manufacturing parts and cars move through these ports, too.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 150 Shares109 Views

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    As Strike Looms, Port Operators Ask Regulator to Force Dockworkers to Negotiate

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    The group that represents port terminal operators said the International Longshoremen’s Association was refusing to negotiate a new contract before a Monday deadline.Days ahead of a possible strike by longshoremen on the East and Gulf Coasts, port employers said on Thursday that they were asking a federal labor regulator to force the dockworkers’ union to resume negotiating a new contract.The United States Maritime Alliance, which is made up of port terminal operators, said it had filed an “unfair labor practice” complaint at the National Labor Relations Board after, it said, the International Longshoremen’s Association repeatedly refused to negotiate. The alliance said it wanted the labor board to rule that the union must negotiate with the employers.In a statement on Thursday, Jim McNamara, an I.L.A. spokesman, called the charge a “publicity stunt” that illustrated that the port employers were “poor negotiating partners.”Last week, the union said the two sides had “communicated multiple times in recent weeks,” and it contended that a stalemate existed because the Maritime Alliance was offering “an unacceptable wage increase.”A strike could begin on Tuesday, after the current labor contract expires on Monday. The I.L.A. broke off talks in June, contending that it had discovered that an employer was using labor-saving technology at the port in Mobile, Ala., that it claimed was unauthorized under the current contract.A strike would close down nearly all activity at ports from Maine to Texas — including at the Port of New York and New Jersey, the third busiest in the country. Analysts say even a short walkout could deal a blow to the economy. Fearing a strike, importers have been bringing in goods before next week and diverting some shipments to West Coast ports.Officials in the Biden administration have said President Biden is not planning to force dockworkers back to work, which the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act authorizes him to do. But economists said Mr. Biden might well end up invoking the act if a strike dragged on.Under the expiring contract, longshoremen earn $39 an hour. A person familiar with the negotiations said the union was asking for a $5-an-hour raise in each year of the new contract, which would last for six years. The person said employers were offering annual raises of $2.50 an hour.The Maritime Alliance said Monday that it had been contacted by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a government agency that helps management and unions negotiate labor contracts.Federal labor law says it is unlawful for a labor organization to refuse to negotiate on behalf of its members. More

  • 163 Shares199 Views

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    Boeing Says It Has Made Its ‘Best and Final’ Offer to Striking Workers

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    The proposal includes raises of 30 percent over the four-year contract, up from a 25 percent offer, but it’s unclear whether it will satisfy workers.Boeing on Monday made what it described as its “best and final” contract offer to more than 33,000 striking union employees.The proposal offers benefits beyond those in a tentative contract that the employees, who are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, resoundingly rejected less than two weeks earlier. Boeing gave the workers, most of whom work in commercial aircraft production in the Seattle area, until the end of Friday to accept the offer.Boeing and the union restarted negotiations last week with the help of a federal mediator. The talks ended on Wednesday with no further negotiation dates scheduled, the union said at the time.Brian Bryant, the international president of the union, said in a statement on Monday that the organization was reviewing the offer.“Employees knew Boeing executives could do better, and this shows the workers were right all along,” he said. “The proposal will be analyzed to see if it’s up to the task of helping workers gain adequate ground on prior sacrifices.”The new proposal includes raises of 30 percent over the four-year term of the contract, up from the previous 25 percent offer. Boeing said it would give each worker $6,000 for approving the deal, double a previous offer. It would also reinstate performance bonuses that were set to be cut and increase a company match for employee 401(k) contributions. The rest is the same as the previous offer.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 163 Shares169 Views

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    As Federal Reserve Readies Interest Rate Cut, Risks to Job Market Still Loom

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    The Federal Reserve is poised to lower interest rates this week. Recent jobs data have been a reminder that a soft landing is not yet assured.An object in motion stays in motion. Is a labor market trend that’s well underway any different?That’s the question looming for officials at the Federal Reserve as they try to pull off a feat that has never really been accomplished before: gently cooling an economy that was experiencing rip-roaring inflation without tanking the job market in the process.So far, the Fed’s attempt at a soft landing has worked out better than just about anyone, including central bankers themselves, expected. Inflation has cooled significantly, with the Consumer Price Index down to 2.5 percent from a peak of 9.1 percent just two years ago. And even with the Fed’s policy interest rate at its highest level in more than two decades, consumer spending has held up and overall growth has continued to chug along.Fed officials are eager to keep it going. That is why all signals suggest that they will lower interest rates at the conclusion of their meeting on Wednesday — and the only real question is whether they will cut them by a typical quarter of a percentage point or by a half percentage point. They are also likely to forecast that they will lower interest rates further before the end of the year, perhaps predicting that they will cut them by a full point from their current 5.33 percent.But even as the Fed turns an important corner on its fight against inflation, real risks remain. And those center on the labor market.Unemployment has been slowly, but steadily, rising. Wage growth has been consistently slowing. Job openings have come down, and hiring rates have come down along with them. And while all of those developments are what the Fed wanted — the point of this exercise was to slow an overheated job market and prevent it from fueling future inflation — central bankers have been clear that they do not want to see it continue.“We do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said in his latest speech.Unemployment and Underemployment RiseThe jobless rate historically jumps during recessions.

    Notes: Unemployment is the share of people actively looking for work; underemployment also includes people who are no longer actively looking and those who work part time but would prefer full-time jobs. Seasonally adjusted.Source: Bureau of Labor StatisticsBy The New York TimesWage Growth Is Cooling SteadilyAfter spiking in 2022, wage gains for rank-and-file workers have been coming down.

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    Year-over-year change in average hourly earnings
    Note: Data is for production and nonsupervisory employees and is not seasonally adjusted.Source: Bureau of Labor StatisticsBy The New York TimesJob Openings Fall, Just as More People Look for ThemAfter years in which jobs were much more plentiful than available workers, that ratio is on the cusp of flipping.

    Data are seasonally adjusted.Source: The Bureau of Labor StatistticsBy The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 125 Shares179 Views

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    Hollywood Movie Producers Find a Harder Time Making a Living

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    Corporate consolidation and technology have upended many jobs in recent decades. But few arcs are more surprising than that of the Hollywood producer.In more than three decades as a studio executive and producer, Kevin Misher has worked on some of the most beloved movies in Hollywood, including “Rudy,” “Meet the Parents” and “Public Enemies.”As recently as 2012, his production company, Misher Films, supported three development executives and three assistants. It had a studio deal worth more than $1 million in many years, which allowed it to acquire scripts and hire writers while meeting payroll.But today, even as Mr. Misher continues to produce high-profile movies like “Coming 2 America” and “You People,” as well as television shows, documentaries and podcasts, his company has slimmed down amid the industry’s changing economics. Years often pass between the time producers start a project and the time they are paid. Deals for producers have dried up as studios have sought greater efficiencies. Mr. Misher’s six employees have dwindled to one, along with a partner who earns a portion of his fees.“Those deals sustained you — they were a paycheck,” Mr. Misher said. “They allowed you to make a basic wage while waiting for a payout.”The unraveling of these arrangements has not only made life harder for an accomplished producer like Mr. Misher, whose job is to originate movies by identifying promising material, and to oversee the hundreds or thousands of people involved in writing and filming. It has also hollowed out the field’s middle tier and made it almost impossible for young people to enter the profession.“It starts to self-select for people who come in already with money,” said Mr. Misher, part of a group of more than 100 producers called Producers United, who are seeking more favorable financial terms through discussions with Hollywood studios. “The perspective gets narrower, it isn’t as innovative or diverse.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More