I am not at all saying that the dock companies should roll over and give them everything they want. And these guys might very well have outkicked their coverage by turning down the 50% increase offered. Time will tell. I do find the exhibited sanctimony aimed at these guys under the auspices that they owe the rest of the country something more than a bit hypocritical. If they were to sign a contract and are shortly automated out of work, will the rest of the country chip in and ensure that their kids don't go hungry? You know that we won't. So what exactly do they owe you? And they are not responsible for inflation. As I said before, if they are so essential to the operation of the country, their contracts should be placed under a structure similar to the RLA where their contracts never 'expire' but become 'amendable'. That way they cannot strike until exhausting a ludicrous number of hoops. It might take a huge quid to get that however.
It also took me a long time to get to where I am now regarding pay. I am guessing that the pay is not the real issue, but rather the automation aspect of all this. Since management is apparently dug in, it seems obvious that their intent is to automate those jobs. So then, what do these guys have to lose? You gonna feed their kids? At some point, workers realize that their jobs are gone anyway, so why not burn it to the ground on the way out? The sad fact though is that the union leadership and corporate management will still get handsomely paid, and the workers' kids will still go hungry anyway.
One more question: How much increase in pay and benefits does one have to remain under in order to not be considered "greedy"?
