Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Question for Kawai James,

James,

I have pre ordered a CA97 but no one on this end has any idea on how the west coast ports shutting down is going to affect estimated arrivals at US dealers. Can you shed some "insider" light on what we might expect? I know everything depends on the time the shut down continues but are there units already in the US or are we dead in the water (pun intended) until further notice?

Thanks,
Brian

Hmmm, pay the dock workers a decent wage so we can have our digital pianos on time, dangit!

I very much agree Mr. Fudd!

the dock workers are pulling in over $100,000 a year. I'll take that

James is just the guy who updates the manuals at head office in Japan... I doubt he'll know much about some parochial industrial dispute in one country. My uneducated guess would be that a 4-day shutdown will delay shipments for a few days.

When were you expecting your CA97 to arrive? I think pre-ordering before having the chance to try one is pretty dumb sub-optimal purchasing. But be sure to report your thoughts when you've had a chance to put it through its paces!


WTF? $147,000 average pay, and they're striking about it? LOL. I should have been a stevedore.

I was not soliciting anyone's opinion of my purchase nor was I asking for opinions or political commentary on what longshormen make or don't make... that is their business. Each one of us is free to choose the career path of our liking so any regrets are of our own making.

For the record, I have prior experience with both the CA63 and the CA95 and am quite comfortable pre ordering the 97. I am not in the habit of making "dumb" major purchases.

The more rich you are, more money you want. These guys will never know how is to live with less than $450,00/month.

Just saying...

So it's fine for people to say that they should "pay the dock workers a decent wage", and others to "very much agree", but when anyone disagrees (i.e. presents some actual facts), we should shut up? I see.


In your opinion. That's fine. I was stating mine, which is that pre-ordering products that you haven't had the chance to try, and that no-one's even tested or reviewed, is often a bad idea. For the benefit of other forum users, not you in particular. If your gamble pays off, great.

UNBELIEVEABLE.

And here's some additional info......
"ILWU workers receive a compensation package that is “among the most lucrative among all blue-collar workers in the United States,” according to the PMA. Full-time workers earn an average of $142,000 annually in wages, along with a non-wage benefits package costing more than $82,000 per active worker per year. Pay ranges depend on the job, with regular longshoremen earning less than clerks and both of them earning less than foremen. According to the 2013 Pacific Maritime Association Annual Report, most of the 9,985 “Class A” longshoremen working that year, which comprised those who worked 2,000 or more total hours, earned roughly $137,000 per year, though many earned less and a few of the highest paid longshoremen, those who worked an average of more than 50 hours per week, earned over $200,000. Most clerks earned roughly $147,000, while the highest-paid earned well over $200,000 per year. Walking bosses, or foremen, are the highest-paid ILWU workers, many of them earning well over $200,000 and some more than $300,000. Nearly 13,600 ILWU workers are employed at West Coast ports. In 2013, the total payroll for the nearly 13,600 ILWU members was roughly $1.4 billion."

Hello Brian,

As lolatu notes, I am just the guy who updates the manuals at head office only responsible for overseas marketing and materials at Kawai Japan, and as such do not have any further information regarding the West Coast dispute than anyone else contributing to this thread.

However, it may be worth giving Kawai America a call to enquire into when they expect these new models to arrive at dealer's stores.

Regardless, thank you for deciding to purchase the CA97. Please do share your thoughts on this instrument once you have received it.

Kind regards,
James
x

Carey, that seems to be a pretty good (bloody excellent) compensation package. There must be another side to this story?

K James, I ain't buying the "Oh I don't know anything about international trade relations and how the macroeconomic dynamics of labor disputes affect the delivery of my individual piano purchase." No siree not buying that at all! Come on spill the beans....

And you can have it, I've got much better things to do with my very short life. Where would we be without those who actually do the work we need done so that we can remain aloft, floating above the fray with our beautiful minds. The pay scale is upside down, garbage men should be millionaires. It's obvious who runs the world.

I wish!! This has to be quote of the month. . . : )

You can't simply take wage and benefit numbers at face value. I lived in Seattle for a time and many, many, kids there live with their parents into their thirties before they can afford a house. The cost of living on the coasts is very high. I live in Michigan now and I kid you not with this: a $20,000 house in Detroit might be worth $750,000 in Seattle.

OTOH, I did know about the strike, but it now makes sense that online vendors are only taking orders for the MP7.

Keep in mind the interconnectivity of all middle-class wages. Bringing down someone else's wage, ultimately, brings down your own in the overall long-term grand scheme of things. No point striving for the lowest possible common denominator. If anything, the rest of us should be brought up to their level, not the reverse. If these workers negotiate a larger wage it benefits us all in the end.

Lolatu...


Your comments bring to mind the old saying that it is far better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you may be a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Kawai James has been kind enough to reply to my question so, for me, this thread is closed. Feel free to babble on about your resentment of those who obviously make more money than you but don't waste your time directing any more responses to me as I will not be opening this thread any longer.

Well said acollins and a sound economomic datum.

Sound?Nonsense. People don't get "brought up" to a level. People earn their way, whether up or down.

As for the dock worker specifics stated above ...This seems questionable. A web search turns up wage averages in the $20k to $40k area, often with no benefits. Given that, why would another employer pay wages 5x higher? The quoted information seems dubious.

But if these six-figure wage figures were true ... exactly how does that benefit anyone other than those wage earners? It won't bring the rest of us up. Rather, it brings us down in the form of higher prices.

Here's one of my sources.......
http://www.pmanet.org/the-ilwu-workforce

Amazing. Laborers paid as much as corporate vice-presidents. No wonder this country has such a hard time competing in the world.

Still ... the numbers seem suspicious. With those wages wouldn't you expect a stampede of people clamoring for the jobs? And wouldn't that force down wages? It all seems incredible.