From what I was told…
Years ago, under scatterbrained Rick Smith, everyone got paid something different based on license, if you returned, if he liked you, etc… you would have three people with the same license making three different wages for no apparent reason whatsoever. It was streamlined when Morgan McManus took over.
Now I believe the max for operational level licenses (you hit a cap after returning a certain number of times) is $250 per day. After taxes and (if you’re MMP) the union’s deductions you’re left with peanuts. No one is making anywhere near a professional mariner’s wage out there. No one expects a Matson-level contract or wages, but they certainly don’t have a right to freak out as much as it seems they do when they can’t find anyone willing to offer their services.