Dockworkers in Hawai'i ratify new 6-year contract

Associated Press

Hawai'i dockworkers have ratified a new six-year contract, giving them parity in wages and benefits with West Coast dockworkers.

The pact approved Friday covers 550 stevedores. It provides for no raises during the first three years but will eventually increase annual pay by about $10,000, according to International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142.

The average dockworker in Hawai'i makes between $70,000 and $80,000 per year, the union said.

Island stevedores will also continue to receive no-cost medical and dental insurance, and those with 35 years on the job will probably be able to retire with annual pensions of $62,000.

Local President Eusebio Lapenia Jr. said the union traditionally negotiates three-year contracts but agreed to a longer pact because stevedore companies felt they needed some stability.