re: River pilots seeking pay raise to nearly $700,000 annually despite shipping decline

Some tug captains have worked Their way up but many of the younger guys are going through maritime training through varied academies.

The point in all of this is that the folks making 550,000 and want a raise to 700,000 are no more skilled than a captain on a 80’ tug boat who probably makes 150,000. Many of those river pilots got their experience on these tugs.
The tug captain Has a much more hazardous job and even has Personal liability whereas the river pilots do not. Tug captains are the ones who have to save the blue water ships when they run aground btw. And guess what... that blue water ship Run aground has a highly paid River Pilot Onboard.

Not saying river pilots are unnecessary. Just saying they’re paid more than they would if it were a free market scenario. There’s a lot of people that’d to that job for a quarter of what they get paid.
The timing of this request is obnoxious.