DockBook Blog
Plain-English explainers on the contract clauses, pension rules, and pay codes longshoremen never get a straight answer about. Written by a Local 502 longshoreman, not a journalist.
How the NYSA-ILA GAI works: the 1,900 hours at straight time cap, quarterly 75% advances, year-end settlement, what counts as income, 12-month ineligibility and the absentee debits.
Why ILA longshoreman pay differs from port to port. The 2024-2030 USMX-ILA wage scale ($54 top rate from October 1, 2026), the 800-hour qualified year, and what each port bargains locally.
How MILA health eligibility works for ILA longshoremen: the 700, 1,000, 1,300 and 2,000 hour tiers, the October 1 to September 30 contract year, new-hire rules and disability credit.
How ILA Container Royalty works: what the Master Contract sets, why each port has its own hours test, and the rules in Hampton Roads (1,300 hours) and Baltimore (700 hours).
Step-by-step: export your shifts from My TimeBook on iPhone or Android and import them into DockBook. Free, takes a few minutes, duplicates skipped.
Plain-English explainer of how the ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan decides who keeps medical coverage. Major vs Minor port thresholds, Annual and Mid-year Reviews, what hours count, and who actually makes the call.
Plain-English explainer of the ILWU-PMA Pension Plan and the ILWU-PMA Savings (401(k)) Plan. Years of service, the eligibility ladder, the 401(k) qualifying-year mechanic, and the hours that don't count.
Why Class B PGP caps at 32 hours until you stack up 5 vacation qualifying years, then jumps to 40, and how to know where you stand.
The qualification rule, the 15-shift threshold, what you get when you fall short, and the Vancouver Island exception. Plain English for longshore workers.
How the ILWU-PMA Pay Guarantee Plan works: weekly caps, the Class B ladder, disqualifiers, and where PGP counts (pension, welfare) and doesn't (401(k)).
How BCMEA / ILWU Canada welfare coverage is earned in hours on a deadline, the difference between A and B coverage, what hours count, and what happens if you miss the window.
Plain-English guide to the WIPP pension for BCMEA / ILWU Canada longshoremen: credited service, the Rule of 90, the Bridge Benefit, and your RRSP room.