Ah yes, applying household analogues to national government issues.
How about this: imagine you're a multi-billion dollar per annum organization openly researching how to put tens of thousands of your core workforce out of a career, and they ask for more money to protect their families and livelihood. And the government forces you to negotiate.
Even if they're put out of a career, they'll still be receiving container royalty payments until retirement (even if they get another job).
More expensive shipping is a regressive tax: any product requiring shipping becomes more expensive. Dock workers are quite literally demanding worsening income inequality: they make well above average wages, and the cost of their demands would be borne by the public at large who on average make less than dock workers.
How about this: imagine you're a multi-billion dollar per annum organization openly researching how to put tens of thousands of your core workforce out of a career, and they ask for more money to protect their families and livelihood. And the government forces you to negotiate.