ILA Union President, “I Will Cripple You” – Dockworker Strike Begins

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From “100percentfedup.com”

When discussing the looming dockworker strike, International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) President Harold J. Daggett said “I will cripple you.”

“The International Longshoremen’s Association is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing upwards of 85,000 longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada, and the Bahamas,” the union states on its website.

“They’re not making millions no more, they’re making billions. And they’re spending it as fast as they make it. I want a piece of that for my men,” Daggett said.

“Cause when they made their most money was during COVID, when my men had to go to work on those piers every single day when everybody stayed home and went to work,” he continued.

“Not my men. They died out there with the virus. We all got sick with the virus. We kept them going,” he said.

“Everybody went to work during COVID. Nobody stayed home. Well, I want to be compensated for that,” he added.

“If they don’t, then I have to go into the street and we have to fight for what we rightfully deserve,” he continued.

“These people today don’t know what a strike is. When my men hit the streets from Maine to Texas, every single port will lock down,” he continued.

“Who’s going to win here in the long run? You’re better off sitting down and let’s get a contract and let’s move on with this world. And in today’s world, I’ll cripple you. I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means,” he said.

WATCH:

“It’s official. The East and Gulf Coast ports of the United States of America are on strike. The ILA hasn’t announced a port strike (I keep furiously refreshing their Facebook page) but picket lines are now visible on the gate cameras,” Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen said.

From the Associated Press:

Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks.

The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight, and even though progress was reported in talks on Monday, the workers went on strike. The strike affecting 36 ports is the first by the union since 1977.

Workers began picketing at the Port of Philadelphia shortly after midnight, walking in a circle at a rail crossing outside the port and chanting “No work without a fair contract.”

The union had message boards on the side of a truck reading: “Automation Hurts Families: ILA Stands For Job Protection.”

At Port Houston, which is in the Central time zone an hour behind the East Coast, at least 50 workers gathered outside the port with signs saying “No Work Without a Fair Contract.” They appeared poised to begin picketing. Workers showed a statement from the ILA on the strike saying that employers have refused to compensate workers fairly.

“The ILA is fighting for respect, appreciation and fairness in a world in which corporations are dead set on replacing hard-working people with automation,” the statement said. “Robots do not pay taxes and they do not spend money in their communities.”

The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, said Monday evening that both sides had moved off of their previous wage offers, but when picket lines went up just after midnight, it was apparent that no deal had been reached.

The union’s opening offer in the talks was for a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with President Harold Daggett saying it’s necessary to make up for inflation and years of small raises. ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime.

Watch the full conversation with Harold J. Daggett below:

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