The average hourly pay scale at that time on the tugboats was as follows: Captains, $1.10; engineers, $1.06; firemen, 72 cents; extra firemen, oilers, deckhands and cooks, 67 cents an hour. The men had demanded an "over the board" increase to $1.35 for all unlicensed ratings, and from $1.57 to $1.83 for the captains. They also demanded two weeks' vacation with pay, and a reduction in the work week to 40 hours from 48 hours.
