Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he will deploy the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard to ports affected by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike.
In an X/Twitter post, the governor stated that guard members will be deployed to ports affected by the strike “to maintain order and, where possible, resume operations at ports which are otherwise shut down.”
“Disrupting the distribution of food, equipment, and supplies as the Southeast U.S. recovers from Hurricane Helene is unacceptable,” DeSantis said in the post. “Floridians need a reliable, steady supply of resources and building materials to keep their families fed and rebuild their homes and businesses.”
In the post, DeSantis said the Florida Highway Patrol will manage the flow of traffic from all Florida seaports as needed to further speed the flow of goods held up by the strike. He said the Highway Patrol will provide escorts for commercial motor vehicles upon request.
“Unlike the federal government, Florida is taking decisive action to ensure that our economy continues to function and that victims of Hurricane Helene will have access to what they need to rebuild,” DeSantis continued.
The governor also ordered the Florida Department of Transportation to waive the collection of tolls and fees as well as size and weight restrictions for commercial vehicles to speed the transportation of goods and reduce operational costs.
Four of Florida’s ports – Port Everglades, Port Miami, Port Tampa Bay and Jaxport (Jacksonville) – are being impacted by the ILA strike, which is in its third day.
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Donald Scheiner
Good for Gov. DeSantis‼️ these union people are the lowest of the low calling a strike at this particular time. Millions of folks up and down the east coast are trying to recover from one of the most damaging hurricanes ever. Maybe if the union leader wasn’t making over $900,000 in salary there would be more for the people that actually work 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
Jamie Gray
As usual Governor DeSantis is working for the people. I wish we could say as much for the federal government.
Augustus H
Can someone explain what goods are shipping in right now that are being delayed in Florida? Last time I checked, bootleg tshirts and Amazon nicknacks are not required for hurricane recovery.
Anything that would be arriving right now was things ordered a month ago to stockpile warehouses for Walmart and Temu. Food shipments are already on the way over land by truck since that was sent out days before the hurricane hit and since most food and consumable (toiletries, paper, sanitary) are packaged in the states already. and ship from landlocked factories.
Marti Stanford
And the longshoremen just want a little job security and a living wage with guaranteed cost of living adjustments for inflation. AKA they just want to support their families and know they will have a job in 5-10 years.
Why isn’t anyone blaming the corporations who froze their wages and wouldn’t negotiate in good faith?
Darlene
Go Ron DeSantis… People have enough to deal with right now without the doc worker strike.
Donald Depappa
Glory to our lord and Savior and glory to our governor Ron DeSantis 🙏
Kenneth Mcewen
Well something does good come along every now and then like a disaster to make you use your power of a governor just throw some big orders around that is actually good and I believe everyone well appreciate this,
But I could see and understand this happening on a Port strike like this one that controls the entire economy and the livelihood of the people,
So I would like to thank you Ron DeSantis for your quick move on this matter,
Holly
This is what leadership looks like !