The wealthy union boss behind a dockworkers’ strike that is choking shipping and causing billions of dollars in damage has delivered a harsh message about the power of his 45,000 members walking off the job.
In comments that have since gone viral, Harold Daggett, leader of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), had no regrets about cutting half the country’s shipping.
Addressing reporters from the picket lines on Tuesday, Daggett, who earns about $900,000 a year and reportedly likes luxury vehicles, said: “Now you’re starting to realize who the longshoremen are, right?”
“People never gave a damn about us until now, when they finally realized the chain was breaking.”
The pugnacious 78-year-old added: “No cars coming in. No food coming in. No clothes coming in.
Outspoken dockers union boss Harold Daggett says strikers could cripple US economy
Tech chief Elon Musk and others have highlighted Dagget’s lavish lifestyle with luxury cars and a yacht. He previously owned the yacht Obsession and was seen driving around in Bentley’s, according to The New York Times.
‘Do you know how many people depend on our jobs? Half the world. And it’s time for them, and it’s time for Washington, to put so much pressure on them to take care of us.”
The ILA strike has blocked shipments of goods from bananas to cars at dozens of ports along the East and Gulf coasts, from Maine to Texas, a disruption that analysts say will cost billions of dollars. daily.
The union launched its strike shortly after midnight on Tuesday after talks with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) for a new six-year contract collapsed.
USMX had offered the union a 50 percent pay increase, but Daggett says members want more, including a $5 per hour increase for each year of the new six-year contract and an end to port automation projects that threaten jobs. union jobs.
“We’ve been here 135 years and we got them to where they are today, and they don’t want to share,” Daggett said. “Well, I’m done.”
At rallies, Daggett has criticized “greedy bitches” and used other profanity against global shipping bosses, which are mostly based in Europe and Asia and have made huge profits in recent years.
But his bellicose language and moment in the spotlight have reignited concerns about Daggett’s own personal wealth and whether his lavish lifestyle is befitting a four-term union president.
His ILA salary rose to a staggering $728,000 in 2023, and he pocketed another $173,000 as president emeritus of 1804-1, another union.
Fox Business has reported that Daggett owned a 76-foot yacht, the Obsession, and had been seen cruising around in a Bentley.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk commented on his X platform Tuesday that Daggett had “more yachts than me.”
The father of three is a New York City native who rose from a longshoreman to union president in 2011. He lives in a sprawling $1.7 million home in Sparta, New Jersey.
Wealthy union boss Harold Daggett, 78, wears a tuxedo at a Christmas event with his son, John, in 2019.
The Daggett family at a memorial event in April 2020 for the union boss’s sister, Bettejane Daggett Jaeger.
Daggett lives in a sprawling $1.7 million two-story home with a pool in Sparta, New Jersey. The 7,000-square-foot home has a five-car garage.
Daggett met with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November 2023, where they discussed the “threat of automation to American workers.”
In 2005, the Justice Department accused Daggett of being an “associate” of a mafia family, although he was acquitted at trial of racketeering charges.
Daggett’s planned attack is already having an impact, although experts say its crippling effects may not be felt for several weeks.
According to Everstream Analytics, more than 38 container ships were already stuck in US ports on Tuesday, compared to just three on Sunday before the strike.
Morgan Stanley economists said late Tuesday that the strike could hurt growth and raise inflation, “but only if it lasts.”
Hundreds of dock workers demonstrated Tuesday at a New York City-area shipping terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey, carrying signs and shouting slogans such as ‘ILA to the end!’ while music played loudly and vendors hawked food.
Work at other ports along the East and Gulf coasts has also slowed or ground to a halt.
President Joe Biden’s administration has increased pressure on American port employers to increase their offer to secure a labor agreement with striking dockworkers.
“Foreign ocean carriers have seen record profits since the pandemic, when longshoremen put themselves at risk to keep ports open,” Biden said in a post on X late Tuesday.
“It’s time for those ocean carriers to offer a strong, fair contract that reflects the contribution of ILA workers to our economy and their record profits.”
Retailers that account for about half of all container shipping volume have said they were scrambling to minimize the impact of the strike as they head into the holiday sales season.
Shares in shipper Maersk fell 2 percent in Copenhagen on Wednesday, while ZIM Integrated Shipping fell 4 percent in premarket action in New York.
The strike, the ILA’s first major walkout since 1977, worries employers who rely on shipping to export their goods or secure crucial imports.
Daggett, left, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, criticizes the “greedy bastards” who run global shipping but skimp on wages.
Workers seen on a picket line for longshoremen at the Red Hook terminal in Brooklyn, New York, on October 1, 2024, seeking more wages and limits on automation.
Experts say banyan trees will be hardest hit by the attacks, along with other fresh fruits from South America and the Caribbean.
It affects 36 ports – including New York, Baltimore and Houston – that handle everything from bananas to clothing and cars.
About half of U.S. imports arrive by water, while 37 percent of exports arrive by water, Morgan Stanley says.
The strike could cost the US economy up to $5 billion a day, JP Morgan analysts warn.
The National Retail Federation urged the Biden administration to use its federal authority to stop the strike, saying the strike could have “devastating consequences” for the economy.
Republicans, including Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, have also called on Biden to end the strike, warning of its effect on the economy. Biden has repeatedly said he won’t do it.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that it does not expect significant changes in food prices or availability in the near term.