The Kamala-backed dockworkers union once quit its job to protest hiring diversity

The International Longshoremen’s Union (ILA), which threatened to “paralyze” the country with a strike last month before winning the support of the Biden-Harris administration, once walked off the job to protest diversity hiring requirements.

Local 1 – the most coveted ILA affiliate in the New York region, representing high-paying “drafts” – is 85% white. Nearly all Black ILA employees are placed in Local 1233, which is nearly 86% Black, according to 2020 statistics from the Port of New York Waterfront Commission.

In 2016, the Commission took steps to redress this racial inequality, which it said stemmed from the union’s ties to the Italian mafia. But when the Waterfront Commission attempted to increase racial diversity through hiring initiatives, the ILA left its job.

“ILA locals went even further to protest the Commission’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, participating in an illegal work stoppage that closed most of the port for the better part of a day,” the Commission said in its 2018 annual report. “Although no official explanation was given for the strike, the ILA’s director of public relations indicated it was aimed at the Waterfront Commission for its alleged ‘interference’ in recruitment.”

“The International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO (ILA) absolute control over port hiring for more than 60 years has not only led to a lack of diversity and inclusion in waterfront employment, but also perpetuating crime and corruption. the Commission said in 2020. “For far too long, well-deserving residents of the Port’s surrounding communities have been systematically denied the opportunity to work on the waterfront. Meanwhile, those associated with union leaders or organized crime figures are rewarded with special compensation packages that include high wages, little show or no work.”

The union’s behavior could spell trouble for Vice President Kamala Harris, a racial equality advocate who joined the union last month.

“This strike is about fairness. Foreign-owned shipping companies have posted record profits and executive pay has increased,” Harris said. “The Longshoremen, who play a critical role in transporting essential goods across America, deserve their fair share of these record profits.”

When the Commission investigated who ordered the strike and “who worked to circumvent our fair recruitment efforts,” ILA leader Harold Daggett sued to block the investigation, the Commission said. A federal court in New Jersey dismissed the lawsuit, but ILA appealed. ILA lost again in 2019 at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

The ILA’s resistance to interference in its hiring practices may have to do with its ties to the mafia. The Commission wrote that “each terminal at the port continues to have special compensation packages for certain ILA workers at the port, the majority of whom are white men associated with organized crime figures or union leadership. Based on industry reported figures, the Commission has again identified more than 590 individuals who received more than $147.6 million in excessive salaries last year, or hours they never worked.”

Daggett, who makes nearly $1 million annually, did not respond to a Daily Wire inquiry about the union’s diversity issues.

In 2005, Daggett was indicted on racketeering charges alleging ties to the Mafia, but was acquitted after a co-defendant, alleged Genovese capo Larry Ricci, disappeared during the trial and was found dead in the trunk of a car. Daggett was elevated to international president in 2011.

The Daily Wire reported on extensive evidence that the ILA union is closely linked to the mafia, causing relatives of imprisoned members with mafia ties to occasionally appear on the union’s payroll.

RELATED: Auditors found 18% of union dockworkers had ties to the mafia. The union had the accountant closed.