BALTIMORE — After six months of lost wages, longshoremen are filing a class action lawsuit seeking compensation.
"This was equivalent to longshoreman what the world experienced during COVID when everything stopped," says Ryan Hale, a longshoreman.
Three longshoremen and attorney Billy Murphy spoke about the financial struggles these front-line workers have been experiencing due to the Key Bridge collapse.
Many of it deals with the seniority system and the benefits, which is based on how many hours they work.
"As of August 24, I had only accrued 1,190 hours. So, if I don't meet that benchmark by the 30th, I drop a tier in my health insurance which ultimately has a significant impact on my wife and my daughter," says Hale.
According to the longshoremen, if you drop to the bottom tier, you lose those benefits.
"You don't want that to happen to you because now you're behind all of the people that you were in front of," says Anthony Wynn, a longshoreman.
Sadly for these workers, the stoppage has impacted them in their day to day lives.
"I'm working a job where I'm working 12 hour days, so the times are late at night to early in the morning. I'm not spending time with the family because bills have to be paid. It puts a lot of stress on family and put a lot of stress on relationships," says Wynn.
The longshoremen say they're in an extremely vulnerable position and say they want to avoid a strike.
If they don't work the mandated hours to remain in their current tier system, they'll drop and lose everything. They say the seniority system is "not a good one."
This class action claim looks to hold the ship's owners accountable for the longshormen's income and livelihood.
