Encounter Harold Daggett, the vibrant and contentious labor union leader spearheading the dock workers' strike.
That's no longer an issue now.
Daggett is the head honcho of the International Longshoremen's Association, which has around 50,000 union workers on strike at over three dozen different port facilities. This work stoppage has put a halt to most of the containerized cargo moving in and out of the US since early Tuesday.
This is the union's first strike in 47 years, and Daggett, who joined the union as a dock worker in 1967 after serving in the Navy in Vietnam, took part in the previous strike. Now, at 78, he's got six grandkids and two great-grandsons. Sporting some bling, he's not shy about dropping the F-bombs while threatening to bring the global economy to its knees.
"Who's the greedy ones here? These companies overseas, they don't give a rat's ass about us," he told picketing workers after the strike began, directing his anger at foreign-owned shipping lines. "We're going to show them, they're going to have to give a rat's ass about us, because nothing is going to move without us!" he said, to wild cheers. "We're going to win this shitshow. You can bet your ass on it. They can't survive too long. We're going to get what the shit we deserve."
A few hours later, he returned to the Port of New York and New Jersey in Elizabeth, New Jersey, accompanied by his son, ILA Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett, and other union leaders. The crowd parted like the Red Sea as he made his way to a grassy knoll filled with idle shipping containers, where he delivered a rousing speech to the cheering crowd using both a bullhorn and colorful language.
"If we have to be out here a month or two months, this world will fall apart," Daggett said.
The unwanted spotlight
However, the increased attention on Daggett and the strike has resulted in harassment and death threats, according to the union.
Daggett takes home around $902,000 for his roles with the ILA and one of its locals, with his son earning $703,000 from the same sources. In comparison, UAW President Shawn Fain, who heads a union with over four times as many members, earned only $200,000 in 2023. Daggett also has some unique honors, like a statue erected in his honor outside ILA headquarters in 2022.
The union has accused its critics of trying to pressure it into backing down on its demands, adding that Daggett is "disgusted by these attempts to undermine his achievements as a union leader and ruin the life he has built for himself and his family."
There have been allegations of wrongdoing, including federal racketeering charges against Daggett and other union officials in 2005, accusing him of enriching himself and his associates by siphoning off union funds. Some of these charges were later dropped, and Daggett was acquitted of the remaining charges. He has fiercely denied any ties to the mob.
Political connections
Daggett has a long history with Queens native former President Donald Trump, with whom he claims to have a "decades-long relationship in New York City." In a July post, he asked ILA members to pray for Trump after an attempted assassination. The post included a picture of themselves shaking hands, taken during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago last November, which Daggett described as "a fantastic, productive 90-minute meeting." They discussed the potential impact of automation on port jobs, a key demand of the current strike.
The union has not endorsed Trump or any other political candidate. It also did not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris or President Joe Biden in their respective campaigns. However, it did support Biden over Trump in the 2020 election, with Daggett praising Biden's "friendship and support of the ILA," which he claimed goes back decades.
Daggett also praised the efforts of Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su to broker a deal before the strike, despite the union's initial opposition to federal mediators. The union's Political Action Committee has donated $115,000 to Democrats this election cycle, compared to just $5,000 to Republicans, according to OpenSecrets data.
Strike timing
The timing of the strike was determined by the expiration of the previous six-year contract on Monday night, not the US presidential election.
The union saw the recent period of record profits in the shipping industry as an opportunity to secure substantial wage increases. Industry profits increased to over $400 billion from 2020 to 2023, driven by soaring shipping rates during and after the pandemic, according to analyst John McCown. This represents more profit than the industry made in its entire history of containerized shipping before that.
The union could have delayed the strike until after the election, operating under an extension, but delaying would have weakened its bargaining power. Striking now made the most sense, regardless of political consequences.
The collective is pushing for a salary boost of $5 per hour in every year of the contract discussion, amounting to a 77% hike in the highest hourly wage by the end of the contract.
Upon hearing the company's proposal of a $3 per hour increase just hours before the planned strike, which would have boosted wages almost 50%, Daggett reportedly retorted, "Screw you."
The business sector is greatly impacted by the ongoing strike, with most containerized cargo movements in the US being halted. Daggett and his union are demanding substantial wage increases, viewing the recent period of record profits in the shipping industry as an opportunity to secure their fair share.
