Dock workers sound off as they hit the picket lines during a massive strike

Tens of thousands of dock workers along the East Coast voiced their frustrations as they stormed the picket lines Tuesday morning in a massive strike that has halted billions of dollars in trade.

The International Longshoremen’s Association launched the strike at midnight after port ownership failed to meet demands for higher wages and address the union’s objections to port automation.

“We are ILA!” union members sang on the picket line at some ports.

They held signs that read: “Corporate greed or worker rights. ILA Demands Fairness,” “Automation Hurts Families,” and “ILA Workers Over Machines. Defend our jobs and rights.”

Dock workers strike at the port of Savannah, Georgia pic.twitter.com/9W7Q2nNGm9

— Mairead Elordi (@JohnsonHildy) October 1, 2024

🧵Port workers’ strike begins!

I went to the Port of Philadelphia and captured the scene.

45,000 International Longshoremen’s Association union members walked off their jobs at midnight, halting trade for billions pic.twitter.com/g1Hkn5PohN

— Mairead Elordi (@JohnsonHildy) October 1, 2024

About 45,000 longshoremen are refusing to work, which will constrict supply chains and choke off nearly 50% of U.S. imports. A total of 14 ports are affected, including the Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey and the ports in Boston, Philadelphia, Wilmington, North Carolina, Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, New Orleans, Mobile, and Houston .

Daggett, the union boss, joined longshoremen on the picket line at Port Authority in New Jersey, where he issued expletive-laden rallying cries and drew heated reactions in front of reporters.

“This will go down in history, what we’re doing here,” Daggett said. ‘Who’s the greedy one here? These companies in Europe. They don’t care about us. We’re going to show them that they’re going to have to care about us, because without us nothing’s going to happen.”

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“We’re going to continue this,” Daggett said. “We are on the news. We’re going to win this damn thing, believe me. They can’t survive for too long, and we’re going to get what we deserve, believe me. God bless you all for being here.”

When a reporter noted that the strike would “bring the economy to a standstill” and asked if Daggett was concerned that it would hurt “everyday Americans,” Daggett responded, “Not us, they are. Don’t turn it around now. … Now you’re starting to realize who the longshoremen are, right? Until now, people have never said anything about us.”

International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold J. Daggett, 100% means business:

“Until now, people never said anything about us. When they finally realized that the chain is now broken… You know how many people depend on our jobs. Half the world! It’s… pic.twitter.com/dQalTgbgsQ

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 1, 2024

Since the threat of a strike made headlines, Daggett’s alleged ties to the mafia and earnings of more than $900,000 have come under scrutiny. Daggett also reportedly owned a yacht named “Obsession” and was seen driving around in a Bentley.

Daggett endorsed President Joe Biden, and the ILA has donated more than $1.6 million to Democrats under Daggett’s watch. However, Daggett began lashing out at Biden as the strike drew closer.

Biden has the authority under the Taft-Hartley Act to force union workers to stay on the job for an additional 80 days, but Biden has made clear he has no plans to get involved.

Another of the nation’s most powerful unions, the Teamsters, released an expletive-laden statement Monday evening in support of the longshoremen’s union, saying they are “100% committed” to the longshoremen’s side and that the ocean carriers are “in strike is against itself.”

“The U.S. government must stay out of this fight and allow union workers to retain the wages and benefits they have earned,” the Teamsters said in their statement. On Tuesday, Teamsters general manager Sean O’Brien walked the picket line with longshoremen in Boston.

The dockworkers union vowed to stay on the picket lines as long as necessary.

“We plan to be here 24/7 until we finalize the contract or get a good contract from the shippers. The plan right now is: we’re just looking for a fair contract, and we’re fighting against automation. It’s pretty simple,” Bernie O’Donnell, vice president for the union’s New England region, told local news in Boston.

The ILA does not answer questions, but only repeats why they are going on strike.

Brief comments tonight from Bernie O’Donnell, international vice president for the union’s New England region. @NBC10Boston pic.twitter.com/XnibBpZWZt

— Kirsten Glavin (@kirstenglavin) October 1, 2024

The strike is “scary” for companies that import goods, said Ryan Peterson, founder of Flexport, a supply chain management company. For consumers, a longer strike could mean higher prices, he said.

“If this continues for weeks or months, I think you’re definitely going to see price increases and shortages in all kinds of goods,” Peterson told Fox News.

Peterson also warned that the union’s demands would hit America’s pocketbooks.

“A 30 to 70% increase in labor costs would put most companies in trouble. But ports are a monopolist, so any cost increases will be passed on to the carriers, who pass them on to the merchants who pass them on to you, the consumer,” Peterson wrote on X.

Negotiations broke down over the summer and the union rejected a last-minute offer from the port authority, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance, that offered the union a nearly 50% pay increase.

However, a deal could be close as the union is seeking a 61.5% pay increase over a six-year contract, down from the 77% they initially asked for. Daggett said in a statement Tuesday that they are demanding a $5 per hour wage increase for each of the six years of a new contract, plus “absolutely watertight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation” and that “all Container Royalties go to the union.