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Hi. Longshoreman here. I work around at the busiest port(s) in the USA and the 5th busiest port(s) in the world. Driving through and working around the 100,000'

Hi. Longshoreman here. I work around at the busiest port(s) in the USA and the 5th busiest port(s) in the world. Driving through and working around the 100,000's containers at the harbor never gets old even after working there for 7 years. There are some interesting things I can say about containers after working with them up close: • Half of the containers we export are empties. The way the process works is we get a majority of full containers from the East (China, Japan, etc.), unload them, and send them empty boxes. Quartz covered this recently: http://qz.com/64779/america-exports-a-lot-of-air/ http://qz.com/64779/america-exports-a-lot-of-air/ • A refrigerated container is called a "reefer". We call the mechanics that work on these reefer mechanics. A 40 foot chasis is called a 40. So yeah, chatter on the radio channels talks about reefers, 40's, and (work) gangs. • Here is a pic I took one night of the cranes before they started to "pump" (work). http://imgur.com/oxGNz9b http://imgur.com/oxGNz9b • I have a draft of a post almost done about what it is that Longshoremen do now a days. It's obviously changed a lot from unloading shit by hand. I met an old timer that would use a hook to stab a giant ice block to pick out the fish. This was before reefers. (I actually just published the post. It's not complete, but it has more general info about longshoremen and containers: http://raymondduke.com/who-are-longshoremen-what-do-they-do-your-questions-answered/ http://raymondduke.com/who-are-longshoremen-what-do-they-do-...) • I can't find the link, but the process that bananas go through as they get shipped here is very interesting. There is a special and very intricate cooling and ripening process with an exact temperature change at the right moment in order to make sure the bananas are the right ripeness when they arrive here. • The worst thing I've encountered is cowhides. Cowhides are a common export from the USA to China (I imagine there is not a lot of room for cattle there). The reason why they are bad is because of the smell. They are coated with some sort of chemical so they don't get dry, but instead of keeping them in a bag, they just toss them in a container and drench them with this foul liquid that drips out of the box as it gets moved around the yard. Luckily, I've only encountered this a few times. I'll be happy to answer any questions. I might not like a lot of things about my job (the politics and the schedule), but I am in love with the culture of the port.

ww520 13y ago
I've heard longshoreman make excellent money, and there's a long wait list of people to get into the trade. What's the pay like?
- raymondduke 13y ago
  I get this alot. The truth is that longshoremen do have the potential to make a decent amount of money -- but in reality, only a small % of them do. Pay starts off in the lower 20's and get get as high as 40-45 depending on the job you get and what shift you work; nights are 1.3 and weekends are 1.5, and some jobs have a 15% or 25% bonus. This sounds like a decent amount of $, but 3/4ths of the longshoremen work only 1 day a week on average. In 2008, we (Casuals) worked about 1 day every 4 months. I've heard of casuals making 90k in the 1990's, but I don't think that'll ever happen again. Regulars, on the other hand, make a good amount of money. On average, the probably make 100k, and if you are a boss or a crane driver, close to 150k. Being a boss, regular, or crane driver takes a lot of time; especially the way things have been going with our economy lately. Before it would take maybe 15-20 years, and now, it's more like 20-30. When I write this, it makes me want to give up on the job because its long term potential is dwindling. But like I mentioned, I love the culture and what it feels like working at the port; it also allows me a lot of freedom to work on my personal projects (shameless plug: I am working on a commenting platform that'll let you use audio comments). The pay right now is decent; I can earn 200-300 for working one day a week, and have the rest of the week for myself. However, getting a job for the week is sometimes annoying; I have to stand around at a hiring hall for hours - or sometimes, days - to work a shift.
mc-lovin 13y ago
What do you think are the main potential areas for improvement in the field? Is there potential for more automation? It sounds like a fascinating job, those cranes look really cool.
- raymondduke 13y ago
  Automation is coming, without a doubt. The problem right now is implementation. A lot of the terminals have had computer screens with GPS that either don't work or are way too faulty. The terminal I worked at today ordered several new automated cranes this year (video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdMMDjPPILE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdMMDjPPILE) but they didn't have the power to support them; so now they are digging up the pavement in order to supply more power. It's a giant mess. Main improvements would be a better implementation, obviously, but also a better line of communication between companies and workers. I wrote a piece of Medium (https://medium.com/labor-related/188796b758d https://medium.com/labor-related/188796b758d) about how they hired 18,000 new workers in the late 90's; which would normally be a very good thing but 80% of those workers are still on temp status (including me). Temp status (i.e., a Casual) doesn't earn a pension, get benefits, or have any of the other perks of a regular worker. I might be getting off-topic a little here, but an improvement to the ports would include a better line of communication between workers and companies instead of trying to turn the port into a giant conveyor belt. I'm not so skeptical to think that a good paying blue collar job will exist forever, but there is an extreme level of efficiency that happens when you put human minds behind big tasks instead of leaving it up to computers. Here is another panoramic pic of when I worked rails: http://i.imgur.com/V1Sficm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/V1Sficm.jpg. Those giant four legged things move back and forth over the wells. The machine I was in moves along side the tracks and allows you to hop on and off the containers to take cones on or off.
  - mc-lovin 13y ago
    Could you shed some light on the strange employment structure in your industry? My impression is that unions in this industry are a combination of the bad (artificially restricting the supply of labor, to the benefit of union members, and the detriment of non members) and good (giving workers to power to maintain safety standards, and making sure that workers feel they can trust their fellow workers). What limits communication? Is it the fact that a lot of the workers are temp workers, or is it unrelated?

ww520 13y ago

I've heard longshoreman make excellent money, and there's a long wait list of people to get into the trade. What's the pay like?

raymondduke 13y ago
I get this alot. The truth is that longshoremen do have the potential to make a decent amount of money -- but in reality, only a small % of them do. Pay starts off in the lower 20's and get get as high as 40-45 depending on the job you get and what shift you work; nights are 1.3 and weekends are 1.5, and some jobs have a 15% or 25% bonus. This sounds like a decent amount of $, but 3/4ths of the longshoremen work only 1 day a week on average. In 2008, we (Casuals) worked about 1 day every 4 months. I've heard of casuals making 90k in the 1990's, but I don't think that'll ever happen again. Regulars, on the other hand, make a good amount of money. On average, the probably make 100k, and if you are a boss or a crane driver, close to 150k. Being a boss, regular, or crane driver takes a lot of time; especially the way things have been going with our economy lately. Before it would take maybe 15-20 years, and now, it's more like 20-30. When I write this, it makes me want to give up on the job because its long term potential is dwindling. But like I mentioned, I love the culture and what it feels like working at the port; it also allows me a lot of freedom to work on my personal projects (shameless plug: I am working on a commenting platform that'll let you use audio comments). The pay right now is decent; I can earn 200-300 for working one day a week, and have the rest of the week for myself. However, getting a job for the week is sometimes annoying; I have to stand around at a hiring hall for hours - or sometimes, days - to work a shift.

mc-lovin 13y ago

What do you think are the main potential areas for improvement in the field? Is there potential for more automation? It sounds like a fascinating job, those cranes look really cool.

raymondduke 13y ago
Automation is coming, without a doubt. The problem right now is implementation. A lot of the terminals have had computer screens with GPS that either don't work or are way too faulty. The terminal I worked at today ordered several new automated cranes this year (video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdMMDjPPILE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdMMDjPPILE) but they didn't have the power to support them; so now they are digging up the pavement in order to supply more power. It's a giant mess. Main improvements would be a better implementation, obviously, but also a better line of communication between companies and workers. I wrote a piece of Medium (https://medium.com/labor-related/188796b758d https://medium.com/labor-related/188796b758d) about how they hired 18,000 new workers in the late 90's; which would normally be a very good thing but 80% of those workers are still on temp status (including me). Temp status (i.e., a Casual) doesn't earn a pension, get benefits, or have any of the other perks of a regular worker. I might be getting off-topic a little here, but an improvement to the ports would include a better line of communication between workers and companies instead of trying to turn the port into a giant conveyor belt. I'm not so skeptical to think that a good paying blue collar job will exist forever, but there is an extreme level of efficiency that happens when you put human minds behind big tasks instead of leaving it up to computers. Here is another panoramic pic of when I worked rails: http://i.imgur.com/V1Sficm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/V1Sficm.jpg. Those giant four legged things move back and forth over the wells. The machine I was in moves along side the tracks and allows you to hop on and off the containers to take cones on or off.
- mc-lovin 13y ago
  Could you shed some light on the strange employment structure in your industry? My impression is that unions in this industry are a combination of the bad (artificially restricting the supply of labor, to the benefit of union members, and the detriment of non members) and good (giving workers to power to maintain safety standards, and making sure that workers feel they can trust their fellow workers). What limits communication? Is it the fact that a lot of the workers are temp workers, or is it unrelated?