The president of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) dismissed concerns that the longshoremen's strike could affect the lives of Americans.
in interview When asked on Fox News if he was worried that this strike would hurt everyday Americans, Harold Daggett, the ILA's international president, said, “People are talking about longshoremen.'' People “didn't care at all,” he explained. They realized that their supply chains were becoming disrupted.
“Now we start to understand who the shoreworkers are,” Daggett explained. “People didn't say anything about us until now, but they finally realized that the chains are now breaking. The cars aren't coming, the food isn't coming, the clothes aren't coming. Do you know how many people in the world depend on our work?
Longshoremen represented by ILA, who work at ports along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico, went on strike as of Tuesday after their labor contracts expired, and ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) failed to reach an agreement. Ta. agreement
The old contract covered about 25,000 dockworkers.
The union says the ILA represents about 85,000 longshore workers who work along “the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Great Lakes, the major rivers of the United States, Puerto Rico and eastern Canada, and the Bahamas.” Website.
USMX reportedly offered an agreement that would increase workers' wages by 50% “over six years,” but the ILA rejected it, a person familiar with the negotiations said. said CNBC.
Daggett released a statement explaining that he is seeking “a $5 per hour wage increase over the six years of the new ILA-USMX master contract” and calling for “a ban on automation and semi-automation.” He explained. Outlet.
Johnny Dixon, president of the Fort Lauderdale ILA, said: explained CBS News added that longshore workers' “maximum wage is $39 an hour” and that they are seeking a 77 percent raise “over the next seven years.”
