The longshoreman boss promises that his 45,000-worker strike will "cripple" the country. He makes his threat in a creepy video. Thing is, he's right that his workers' strike will put the country's economy on the ropes again — just in time for an election, hurricane clean-up, and Christmas.
Indeed, as Rick reports, the International Longshoreman Association's (ILA) members demand a 77% increase over the six-year life of the contract. So far, they have a 50% increase on the table from the consortium of companies, port bosses, and merchant groups. They don't want further automation at the ports, which, of course, puts the country on the ropes at the end of every union contract.
The union boss, ILA president Harold Daggett, warned in a video that, "I'll cripple you. I will cripple you and you have no idea what that means." He said, "Everybody's hating the longshoremen now because now they realize how important our jobs are."
If that sounds like mafia talk, there might be a reason for that. In 2005, Daggett legally fought off allegations that he's part of the Genovese crime family.
The Star Ledger reported at the time:
John Bowers, the aging president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, had gone to meet a local union official at the Smith & Wollensky in Miami Beach.
Inside, he was surprised to discover George Barone seated amid the polished brass and dark wood decor of the pricey waterfront steakhouse.
Barone was no stranger. A Genovese family member, he once controlled ILA locals in New Jersey and Miami. He also had coldly killed at least 10 people, by his own count, as a mob enforcer.
In a sworn deposition, Bowers recounted the conversation: ‘‘You’re doing a wonderful job,’’ Barone told him. ‘‘We hope you stay forever. But if you ever leave, I would like to see Harold Daggett become president.’’
Daggett sounds like he may have learned at the feet of the union masters. The UK Telegraph touts in a headline, "Harold Daggett: How union leader who fought mob tie allegations is holding the US economy to ransom."
Related: Dockworker Strike Threatens to Reignite Inflation and Cause Shortages for the Holidays
Here's what Daggett told the country in a video about why the stakeholders need to give longshoremen what they demand.
First week, be all over the news.
Second week, guys who sell cars can't sell cars cuz the cars ain't comin' in off the ships. They get laid off.
Third week, malls start closing down. They can't get the goods from China. They can't sell clothes. They can't do dis.
Everything in the United States comes on a ship. They go out of business.
He says the housing industry will be next to go down.
Construction workers get laid off because their materials aren't coming in. The steel is not coming in. The lumber's not coming in. They lose their job.
He says even if Joe Biden, or whoever the president really is at this point, threatens the Taft-Hartley Act to force workers back on the job, it will mean little.
Sure would be a shame if anything happened to that nice country of yours, Joe.
Now I'm getting the president screaming at me, 'I'm putting the Taft Hartley on you!'
Go ahead.
Taft Hartley means I have to go back to work for 90 days as a cooling off period.
Do you think when I go back for 90 days those men are going to work on that pier? It's gonna cost the companies money to pay their salaries while they go from 30 moves an hour to maybe eight.
They're gonna be like this [he puts both hands around his neck like he's getting choked.]
Who's gonna win here in the long run?
You're better off sitting down and let's get a contract. Let's move on with this world. In today's world I'll cripple you. I will cripple you and you have no idea what that means.
More concerning, as I reported in the latest West Coast, Messed Coast™ report, West Coast dock workers promised to go on strike in solidarity with their fellow union members. That could mean that the container ships already diverted from the east to the west coasts due to strike concerns could sit offshore without being unloaded as well.
Hope this ends well. But if West Coast, Messed Coast™ ports go out on strike with the East Coast in solidarity, and Kamala, Joe, and Mayor Pete stay on the sidelines, it could be an interesting election and Christmas season. pic.twitter.com/zPe7Qd4Pu4
— Victoria Taft, The Adult in the Room, FITF Squad (@VictoriaTaft) September 27, 2024
Here's Daggett at the poker table holding all the cards. Pay me or the kids' Christmas gets it.
The Biden/Harris Administration has made it easier to organize unions and allow them to flex their strength. Biden and Harris have named pro-union people to the majority of the National Labor Relations Board.
And here we are, like Marlon Brando's character in "On the Waterfront": "If I spill, my life ain't worth a nickel." We know how you feel, Terry Malloy. We coulda been a contendah.
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