That would raise average wages to about $63 an hour from $39 an hour over the life of the contract.
The union and the port operators said in a statement that they would extend their master contract until Jan. 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all outstanding issues.
https://xcancel.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1841973125996585431
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ship-queue-grows-us-ports-dockworker-strike-enters-third-day-2024-10-03/
idk about state support. but yeah without bringing socialism in, there's nothing that makes unions directly fight for the working class as a whole, just for the interests of that segment of it. This strike could have had wider political implications, e.g. Maersk was one of the employers. The most extreme example is cop "unions" that actively fuck over the working class, but lots of unions sacrifice the rest of the class a little bit. For instance working people need public transit, Chicago's transit system has had a big operator shortage for several years, but the union made it really difficult to get a job as an operator (have to first do 1 year in an essentially unrelated menial role with few openings). Or you get Hoffa teamsters
That's a really good point. Lots to think about.