Pay details emerge for new US west coast dockworker contract 

Details of the deal hatched between unions and employers covering 22,000 workers at 29 US west coast ports have emerged. 

After a fraught 13 months of stalled negotiations, walk-outs and cargoes emigrating to alternate locations, the new six-year contract, which still has to be approved by union members and terminal operators, sees dockworkers winning a 32% pay increase through 2028, effective from July last year, with workers also sharing a one-time $70m “hero bonus” for working through the pandemic.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal gives dockworkers a raise of $4.62 an hour in the first year of the contract—the equivalent of a 10% wage increase—plus an additional $2 an hour in each subsequent year.

The new deal works out at an annual pay increase of 5.7%, far higher than most other job sectors in the US. HR consultants Mercer report that in 2023, pay increases in the US are the highest since 2008 at 3.8-4.1%.

Prior to this wage rise, the average full-time port worker had an annual salary last year of $211,000, when benefits such as pensions and health care are included.