As tens of thousands of dockworkers on the east and gulf coasts went on strike in an effort to secure a better labor agreement, Harold Daggett, the leader of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), made the promise on a picket line in New Jersey on Tuesday.
He declared, “We are going to fight for it and we are going to win or this port will never open up again.” “I’m not playing games here.”
To date, President Joe Biden has rejected requests from some of the largest business groups in the nation to utilize federal authority to reopen the ports for eighty days, thereby halting the strike and giving additional negotiations time to cool up.
According to Bieden, it is only right that those who labored to keep ports open during the pandemic should also receive a sizable pay boost.
Ocean carriers should not be making record profits at this point in time by refusing to negotiate a reasonable compensation for these vital employees.
Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, supported the striking port workers as well.
“American workers should be able to negotiate for better wages, especially since the shipping companies are mostly foreign flag vessels,” he stated in a statement. Companies are preparing for the likelihood of a protracted port closure, which could have disastrous effects on international trade and the US economy.
