Saying 'I will cripple you,’ to the USA and its economy, Harold Daggett leads dock workers on East Coast into a strike today. The union rejected an offer of a 50% pay raise plus other benefits and Daggett, as their leader, is leaning into populist, anti-foreigner rhetoric.
Daggett falsely claims foreign carriers raised rates from $6000 to $30,000 per container in just a few weeks. Companies knew of the impending strike and stocked up on imports before today’s strike.
The Biden Administration believes there’s room in the economy for about a week long strike. Any longer and pressure may build for Biden to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act which forces workers back for 90 days. Biden said he will not do that.
Daggett reportedly has owned a yacht, rides a Bentley and makes just under a MILLION dollar a year.
Please see snip from Twitter below on some… interesting info about Daggett.
IMO Tim Walz needs to bring up this strike in the debate. Do Trump & Vance support the strike as well? What does this mean regarding automation? Business likes a steady supply chain.
“It’s disgraceful that most of these foreign-owned shipping companies are engaged in a ‘make and take’ operation,” said the union. “They want to make their billion-dollar profits at United States ports, off the backs of American ILA longshore workers, and take those earnings out of this country and into the pockets of foreign conglomerates.”
snip
In another parallel to populist politics, the ILA is spreading fake news, not about Haitian immigrants eating Americans’ cats and dogs, as with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (who has a “long relationship…going back decades” with Daggett, according to the ILA), but about shipping rates.
Daggett is claiming foreign carriers increased their charge from $6000 to $30,000 for a full container in just a few weeks.
Fact check: Container shipping rates are falling, not rising — and they are nowhere even close to $30,000 per feu on average, let alone $60,000. The strike is eventually expected to increase shipping rates, but only after queues tie up vessels and equipment.
snip
Michael Kaasner Kristiansen, owner of shipping consultancy CK Americas, went further, calling the ILA “liars” in an online post. “It would be crazy to assume that ILA leadership does not clearly understand that shipping lines are not getting $30,000 for boxes going to ILA ports,” he wrote. The ILA refused all press inquires on Monday so Lloyd’s List was unable to seek a response.
snip
If the strike lasts longer, many analysts expect that the Biden administration will have no choice but to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, forcing a 90-day cooling off period, even though president Joe Biden has explicitly stated that he will not.
www.lloydslist.com/...
www.reuters.com/...
US East Coast dockworkers strike, halting half the nation's ocean shipping
- ILA strike in first such action by the union since 1977
- Strike could cost the economy an estimated $5 billion a day
- Strike disputes include pay, terminal automation project issues
- White House officials hope for short strike, sources say
