During the recent East and Gulf Coast longshore workers’ strike, several news outlets published finger-wagging headlines like “Striking Dockworkers Are Top Earners — When They Work” and “Many Dockworkers Make $150,000 or More. Why They’re Going on Strike.” The implication was that the strike centered on the grievances of a very privileged cohort of workers willing to damage the economy to raise their already inflated salaries.

Throughout the strike, the media and the shipping companies routinely invoked the specter of a six-figure blue-collar salary, assuming it would naturally send chills down the spine of every employer and instill disgust in the heart of every American.

The simple truth is that in 2024, a six-figure blue-collar salary should be a regularity, not an aberration. The notion becomes less scandalous when we compare workers’ salaries and purchasing power today to those in 1960.