'Not Us—They Are!' Union Leader Rejects Fox News Spin on Port Strikes

Amid concerns over fallout from the dockworker strike at ports up and down the East Coast, the head of the International Longshoremen's Association stressed in a Fox News appearance Tuesday that it's greedy companies, not 45,000 striking workers, who are to blame for any economic impacts that may follow from the labor dispute.

"They don't care," ILA president Harold Daggett said of shipping companies. "It's not fair. And if we don't put our foot down now, they would like to run over us, and we're not gonna allow that."

The Fox reporter then said, "You are gonna grind the economy to a halt here on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast."

Daggett fired back: "Not us—they are! Don't spin it now because you're Fox News... They have the capital to settle this thing."

Reuters reported Wednesday that "the strike, the ILA's first major stoppage since 1977, is worrying businesses that rely on ocean shipping to export their wares or secure crucial imports. It affects 36 ports—including New York, Baltimore, and Houston—that handle a range of containerized goods ranging from bananas to clothing to cars."

As the Fox reporter emphasized the impacts of the strike, Daggett said, "Now you start to realize who the longshoremen are, right?"

"People never gave a shit about us until now, when they finally realized that the chain is being broke now," he continued. "Cars won't come in. Food won't come in. Clothing won't come in. You know how many people depend on our jobs? Half the world!"

"And it's time for them, and time for Washington, to put so much pressure on them to take care of us," he added. "Because we took care of them, and we're here 135 years and brought them where they are today and they don't want to share!"

The ILA members walked off the job just after midnight on Tuesday, following the collapse of negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). The union is pushing for annual raises and protections from automation in the six-year contract.

Democratic President Joe Biden has power to break the strike—thanks to the anti-union law known as the Taft-Hartley Act—but has said he doesn't plan to do so. The ILA has welcomed the involvement of Biden's acting secretary of labor, Julie Su, whom Daggett called "terrific."

"We took care of them... and brought them where they are today and they don't want to share!"

In a Wednesday statement, the union leader said that his members "are grateful for the wisdom, courage, and leadership" of Su.

"Our ILA rank-and-file members will continue to strike for fair wages and their share of the foreign ocean carriers record billion-dollar profits and we are grateful to have the support of the U.S. Labor Department," Daggett declared.

His comments came in response to Su saying Tuesday that "over the last week and more, I have spent hours on the phone and in meetings with the parties urging them to find a way to reach a fair contract. This country's port workers put their health and safety on the line to keep working through the pandemic so we could get the goods we needed as Covid raged and these workers will help communities recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene."

"As these companies make billions and their CEOs bring in millions of dollars in compensation per year, they have refused to put an offer on the table that reflects workers' sacrifice and contributions to their employer's profits," she added. "The American economy has defied all expectations thanks to the Biden-Harris administration's leadership. There is room for both companies and their workers to prosper. The parties need to get back to the negotiating table, and that must begin with these giant shipping magnates acknowledging that if they can make record profits, their workers should share in that economic success."

Biden—who blocked a rail strike in 2022 but then last year became the first sitting president to walk a picket line—put out a similar statement in support of longshoremen on Tuesday, saying on social media that "it's time those ocean carriers offered a strong and fair contract that reflects ILA workers’ contribution to our economy and to their record profits."

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the November election, piled on with a Wedneday campaign statement highlighting that "this strike is about fairness. Foreign-owned shipping companies have made record profits and executive compensation has grown. The longshoremen, who play a vital role transporting essential goods across America, deserve a fair share of these record profits."

Harris pointed out that her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, "wants to pull us back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize," noting that "as president, he blocked overtime benefits for millions of workers, he appointed union-busters to the [National Labor Relations Board]—and just recently, he said striking workers should be fired."

"Donald Trump makes empty promise after empty promise to American workers, but never delivers. He thinks our economy should only work for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them," she added. "As president, I will have workers' backs and finally pass the [Protecting the Right to Organize] Act. And I will fight for an opportunity economy—where every person has the chance not just to get by but to get ahead."