Californians compete for a rare prize: a blue-collar union job paying up to $200,000

[Zorro]

If Cynthia Byington wins her version of the lottery, she will probably have to wait a decade to claim her prize. But Byington doesn’t mind, because the reward is a shot at one of the rarest lifelines left for working-class Americans: a unionized blue-collar job.

In February, for the first time in over a decade, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union will raffle off thousands of part-time gigs working at Los Angeles-area ports. The slots don’t come with benefits or steady hours. But eventually, after putting in years at the docks, some of those part-timers may earn the chance to become unionized longshoremen, who can make as much as $200,000 per year.

“You get full benefits your entire life. Even if it’s not ‘til I turn 90, it’s worth it,” Byington, 53, said.

The 2,400 names drawn in the raffle will become “casual” longshoremen.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-port-lottery-20170127-htmlstory.html

[scscholar]

1. Thought this was going to be about cops

I helped a friend's husband that is a cop in the bay area with his taxes, and he made nearly $200k with a GED. That was so promising for the rest of us.