For the last four months while dockworkers and their employers blamed each other for congestion at West Coast ports, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) reported the average wage for union members was $147,000, but the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) disputed it.
It turns out it was a little high for Puget Sound workers.
The base pay for a union member with at least 4,001 hours of experience was $35.68 per hour — or about $75,000 a year. Pay varies based on shifts worked, experience, overtime and if he or she is a longshore worker, a clerk or a foreman, according to the 2008-2014 contract.
The 808 working longshore employees in Seattle in 2013 earned an average $84,675 and averaged 48.4 years old, according to the PMA, which hires the workers. In Tacoma the 790 members earned an average $114,024, and averaged 47.7 years old. The difference reflects that Tacoma longshore workers averaged more hours and had more experience.
Union spokesman Craig Merrilees said these pay figures do not account for the 700 “casual” workers in Seattle and Tacoma. These are the part-time workers who are not yet registered ILWU members, do not receive benefits and earn less — as little as $25.71 an hour, he said.