ILA President Harold J. Daggett Joins Picket Lines Throughout Port Newark/Elizabeth at Start of Strike; Rallies Tens of Thousands of ILA Members to Stay Strong and United
Editor’s note: NYC’s Mayor Eric Adams was also on hand to join the picket line for the ILA Union. The mayor is a longtime supporter of unions and workers rights. See photos from the Mayor’s Office below the article.
USA Today published an article that describes the present wages and what they’re asking for: “The current top wage amounts to about $81,000 per year, but according to a Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor report about a third of local longshoremen made $200,000 or more a year.
“However, that pay may come with extreme hours. The ILA president, Harold Daggett, told the Associated Press that many of the workers earning high wages work up to 100 hours a week
“’Our members don’t work typical 9-to-5 jobs; they work extraordinary hours, sacrificing time with their families. Our position is firm: we believe in the value our incredible rank-and-file members bring to this industry and to our great nation,’ the ILA said in a statement.
“The average U.S. salary was about $59,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor.”
ILA President Harold J. Daggett Joins Picket Lines Throughout Port Newark/Elizabeth, New Jersey at Start of Strike and Rallies Tens of Thousands of ILA Members to Stay Strong and United; Union Demanding $5 Per Hour Increase in Wages for Each Year of Six-Year Agreement, Plus No Automation or Semi-Automation and Union Retaining All Container Royalty Funds for Members
NORTH BERGEN, NJ (October 1, 2024) At the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) President Harold J. President Harold J. Daggett joined thousands of fellow members outside the gates at Maher Terminal in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey and launched the first coastwide strike in the ILA in nearly a half century. He continued walking the picket lines at A.P.M. Terminals and Port Newark Container Terminal
The ILA leader was joined by tens of thousands of ILA members setting up picket lines going up at all the major ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The ILA intends for the demonstrations to continue round the clock, 24/7, for as long as it takes for United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) to meet the demands of ILA rank-and-file members.
“We are now demanding $5 an hour increase in wages for each of the six years of a new ILA-USMX Master Contract,” said ILA President Harold Daggett. “Plus, we want absolute airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation, and we are demanding all Container Royalty monies go to the ILA.”
In a powerful demonstration of international solidarity, Bobby Olvera, Jr., President, International Longshore and Warehouse Union was standing beside ILA President Harold Daggett and ILA Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett, when the strike commenced at midnight. Bobby Olvera noted that a huge delegation of ILWU Hawaii members, included the ILWU’s newly elected Hawaii Vice President Brandon Wolff, were also present to proclaim their full support for ILA strikers.
“When we fight, we win,” ILWU President Olvera shouted to the ILA. “Brothers and Sisters, on behalf of all the members of the ILWU, from Alaska to San Diego, British Columbia, and most definitely from the Islands of Hawaii, the ILWU stand with the ILA. We are family- WE ARE ONE! Let one employer stand between us and see what happens. Let one Port Authority stand between us and see what happens. Let one elected official stand between the working men and women of the docks in North America and see what happens! The ILWU will stand with your International President (Harold Daggett), with Dennis (Daggett), and all of your locals up and down the Eastern Seaboard and the Gulf. The ILWU stands with you Brothers and Sisters. SOLIDARITY!”
Jordi Aragunde, General Coordinator, International Dockworkers Council (IDC) also joined the ILA in person for the start of its strike.
NYC Mayor Stands In Solidarity With ILA Union. Image Credit – NYC Mayor
NYC Mayor Stands In Solidarity With ILA Union. Image Credit – NYC Mayor
NYC Mayor Stands In Solidarity With ILA Union. Image Credit – NYC Mayor
NYC Mayor Stands In Solidarity With ILA Union. Image Credit – NYC Mayor
NYC Mayor Stands In Solidarity With ILA Union. Image Credit – NYC Mayor
NYC Mayor Stands In Solidarity With ILA Union. Image Credit – NYC Mayor
NYC Mayor Stands In Solidarity With ILA Union. Image Credit – NYC Mayor
Banner Image:New York City Mayor Eric Adams stands in solidarity with members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local 1814 on the picket line in Brooklyn on Tuesday, October 1, 2024. Image Credit – Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
International Longshoremen's Association
When Port of Baltimore native and International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) leader Jeff Davis coined the phrase “ILA: means ‘I Love America'” during World War I, he explicitly connected the ILA with a deep and passionate patriotism, which has been a defining characteristic of the Union since its infancy in America’s heartland straight through to today’s era of advanced internationalism. ILA patriotism runs deeper than the personal convictions of the Union’s dynamic leaders – it is an expression of the central role longshoring has played in this nation’s history.