It depends on what the baseline pay is. If the boss is already paying above-market wages, then the employee is unreasonable. If the boss is well-under and his offer gets him up to a point of mediocrity, then he's merely putting on an air of civility to give cover to the fact that he's been dragging his feet for years.
Thousands of East and Gulf Coast dockworkers went on strike demanding higher pay. Here are the wage increases they secured.
www.cbsnews.com
It would seem as if they were already making above-market wages (if we define "market" as the collection of union/nonunion jobs for that specific vocation, and other similar ones). (which typically range from $54-$68k). The guys who have been there 3+ years are already making more than that.
They're also citing the fact that they earn less than their peers on the West Coast...welcome to the club. I earn significantly less than my peers living in San Diego as well. There's different economic conditions there.
Monday, USMX said its latest offer would boost dockworkers' wages by nearly 50%, triple employer contributions to employee retirement plans and enhance health care coverage.
Again, I think that's a pretty decent offer considering the fact that most are already in the upper quartile for the type of work they do.
In a good faith negotiation, it's certainly not the type of offer that should be met with "
screw that, no way we're taking that, we'll crush you" (especially not coming from a labor leader who, he and his son who leads a different affiliate chapter, are both pulling down close to a million per year)
I am curious as to how the leader (and his son/right-hand-man) of a 25,000 member organization is pulling down a salary that's quadruple that of the president of the teamsters and the president of the UAW.
Point of reference:
Sean O'Brien makes $250,000 (leading an organization of over a million members)
Shawn Fain makes $189,000 (leading an organization of 400,000 members)
Daggett made $728,694 in 2023 as ILA president and an additional $173,040 as president emeritus of the mechanics local chapter at Port Newark in New Jersey
Daggett's son, Dennis Daggett, heads the New Jersey local his father once led and is now ILA executive vice president, roles that netted him total income of more than $700,000 in 2023.
ILA seems to be one of the rare outliers where the "upper management" within their organization makes more than the upper management of the organizations they're trying to negotiate against. That doesn't always convey the "best look".
When Shawn Fain (making $189k) sits down at the table to negotiate against a bunch of Ford or GM executives all making well over 7 figures, the "Corporate greed" angle is a little more sympathetic.
Daggett (Making a total of 900k per year) and his Son (making 700k) sitting down at the table with guys who make less than them to call them out for "being greedy" doesn't quite resonate the same way.
Another point of reference:
While his net worth isn't public information, it is known that Daggett has been president of the ILA for more than 10 years and earns a salary of $728,000, according to Politico. Daggett's salary has come under scrutiny since the strike started.
Daggett also owns his home in New Jersey, where his primary residence is, and in Highland Beach, Florida, according to records reviewed by Newsweek. His Florida property was assessed at $1.38 million in 2023, according to records, and his New Jersey property was assessed at $2.36 million.
John LeFevre, a former investment banker, stated that Daggett also recently sold his 76-foot yacht, Obsession.
A salary that's more than the CEO you're "fighting against" (and the same for your own son who got a #2 role via nepotism), millions of dollars worth of real-estate, and 76-foot yachts don't exactly convey the "man of the people" vibe you'd think people would want in a labor leader.
And the fact that he was brought up on RICO charges a decade ago for affiliations with a prominent (Genovese) crime family explains some of that "we'll crush them" rhetoric.
"This a real nice supply chain you've got here...it'd be a real shame if something bad happened to it"