Shipping Deregulation's Wage Effect on Low and High Wage Dockworkers

This paper examines regional wage patterns of low- and high-wage dockworkers following deregulation. Findings reveal significant wage premium increases for low-wage dockworkers residing in the East and West Coasts following the initial deregulation in 1984. These premium gains surpass post-deregulation gains of high-wage dockworkers. Dockworker premiums do not change significantly for individuals residing in the southern U.S. These findings suggest that low-wage nonunion competition played a key role suppressing wages in the southern U.S. Unparallel union bargaining power in the East and West Coasts contributed to the high-relative wage gains of low-skilled dockworkers. In contrast to the post-1984 deregulation wage patterns, high-wage dockworkers received larger premium gains compared to the gains for low-wage 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.