Boeing machinists reject latest contract; strike continues – Politico

“The offer would have boosted wages by 35 percent over four years, outlined a one-time signing bonus of $7,000, and retirement plan improvements.”

New York Times’ tech staff threatens strike during Election Day crunch – Semafor

“…the average total compensation of someone in the Tech Guild unit, including salary, bonuses and restricted stock options, is $190,000 — $40,000 more on average than journalists in the Times Guild.”

Question: Why is it harder for waiters and cooks to bargain for higher wages than workers with specialized skills at Boeing and the NY Times? Hypothesis: Employers of food workers are in highly competitive markets with less of a profit margin to share than companies with monopoly power. Specialized workers for companies extracting monopoly profits may be able to pose a more credible threat to hurt the company by striking than lesser-skilled workers who can be more easily replaced. Employers with monopoly power and high margins may be able and willing to forego a slice of the profit to prevent a shut down.

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