Abstract:

This paper examines the effect of before and after the passage of the Shipping Act of 1984 and the Ocean Shipping and Reform Act of 1998 of the U.S. union dockworker versus union non-transport operatives' wage. The study also analyzes regional wage patterns of low- and high-wage union dockworkers before and after passage of the Shipping Act of 1984 and the Ocean Shipping and Reform Act of 1998. The three-hundred-thirty-six monthly Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation (CPS-ORG) files from January 1973 through December 2001 are used to estimate dockworkers' earnings. Findings reveal significant wage premium increases for the union dockworkers relative to non-transport operatives following the regulatory reform in 1984 and 1998. Skilled dockworkers residing in the North Atlantic Coast, South Atlantic Coast, Gulf Coast, and West Coast of the U.S. received a highest wage premium following the deregulation in 1984. However, dockworker premiums do change significantly for individuals residing in the Atlantic Coast and West Coast of the U.S. These findings suggest that the regional strength on the coast encourages a greater inter-industry wage advantage for dockworkers employed in North Atlantic, South Atlantic, and the West Coast of the U.S. In contrast to the post-1984 deregulation wage patterns, high-skilled dockworkers received larger premium gains compared to the gains for low-skilled dockworkers following passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998. These post- 1998 findings support the hypothesis that the challenges in employing high-skilled dockworkers in the late 1990s contributed to their relative wage gains.