As the East and Gulf Coast port strike entered its third day, the International Longshoremen’s Association said its leader has received death threats. Meanwhile, hundreds of trade groups implored President Joe Biden to intervene in the dockside work stoppage.
The first strike in nearly 50 years by 45,000 members of the ILA has shut down container handling at 14 ports from Texas to New England.
After Biden on Tuesday backed the union, ILA President and chief negotiator Harold Daggett said his members would accept nothing less than a $5 increase in hourly pay. Shipping lines and marine terminal operators had offered $3 or a 50% bump over the six years of the most recent contract but later said they would not negotiate under such a pre-condition.
No new bargaining was scheduled.
Amid reports of panic-buying and the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene, Daggett and other union officials have received death threats and been harassed, according to a statement posted on the ILA website.
“In telephone calls made to the staff of the International Longshoremen’s Association, and to countless ILA Locals up and down the coast, President Daggett and other ILA top officers have received vicious death threats and other forms of intimidation,” the statement said.
In Washington a coalition of trade groups on Wednesday called on Biden to reopen the ports and appoint a federal mediator to help negotiate a new longshore contract.
The National Retail Federation and 272 trade organizations representing importers and exporters, farmers, manufacturers, retailers, and logistics providers said a prolonged strike would cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars each day.
“Given the dire situation and the massive negative ramifications for our industries and the economy, we implore you to take immediate action to resolve this situation expeditiously,” the group said in a statement.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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Julie
These port jobs are crucial for everyone here in the United States. We all deserve a fair wage! No one who works in this type of trade should ever be allowed to strike!! When you could literally cripple our country, the selfishness of these people. For the union head, Mr. Daggett to stand up there and say that you could cripple us and cost the people to lose $5 billion a day, for a four dollar an hour raise is disgusting!! If you don’t like your job and don’t like the pay, then step aside and let someone else take that job to ensure that our country runs This job is not just about your money. It’s about keeping our country running. No one with that kind of attitude should be running anything! You have every right to negotiate a fair wage, but to shut down our economy and make the people of this country hurt is 100% unacceptable he needs to step down as head of this union. Someone that cares about everyone in this country should be running that union, not someone who only cares about 45,000 people out of the rest of us.
Carl R Roop
What a load of crap. The union is being GREADY
Carlos P
I fully support free people to have the ability to STRIKE, screw what Biden Democrats think about it !! ⚠️👏🏼👏🏼
TJ
Let’s pick a time to go on strike when the country just experienced one of the worst hurricanes ever. Just goes to show the unions only care about themselves and could care less about anyone else outside of the membership. Because of that I have zero sympathy for them. And since our government does care either, well, it’s helping me make up my mind on who to vote for in November as well. My experience with unions are they become just a bunch of lazy, entitled, whiners.
Nick
They make $39 an hour & asking for $69 an hour – full scale workers. They average $200k a year working roughly 100 hrs a week.
Stephanie Calvo
Fully support 🙌 👏 👌 ❤️ 💯 %
leslie taylor
I’m not a math head, but I’m betting a $5/hr increase wouldn’t cover inflation;
not for the last 6 years annd certainly not for the next. If you don’t ask for what you can get,
you don’t get it.