Americans have been advised to stock up on food, fuel, and essential items, as warnings of potential shortages grow due to an impending strike by the International Longshore Association (ILA). Concerns are mounting that everyday goods may become scarce.
On September 27, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene took to Twitter to express concern about the potential strike. She stated, “It’s very important to understand how critical this is given that America is now in a $36 billion dollar food trade deficit for the first time in our nation’s history. Also, the Biden-Harris administration and congressional out-of-control spending have driven inflation so high that many Americans can’t afford quality of life.”
Rep. Greene went on to emphasize the gravity of the situation: “I think this situation is serious and, depending on whether they strike and how long it lasts, could be a crisis going into the election, holidays, and winter. Retailers have been trying to stock up in preparation, but it’s always smart to be personally prepared just in case.”
The International Longshore Association, led by a union boss who once threatened to “cripple” the U.S. economy, has officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. The ILA announced they would proceed with their strike plans, despite warnings from economists that the economy is already facing a recession.
CNBC highlighted key details of the strike:
- 50,000 ILA union longshoremen have walked off the job at ports along the East Coast and Gulf Coast, from New England to Texas, as of 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, following a failure to reach a new contract with port ownership. This marks the first strike by the union since 1977.
- Between 43% and 49% of all U.S. imports, amounting to billions of dollars in monthly trade, pass through East Coast and Gulf ports.
- According to ILA President Harold Daggett, the union is demanding a $5 hourly wage increase annually over the next six years, full royalties for container handling, and strong anti-automation measures. The union rejected a Monday offer from the port management group, USMX, which had proposed nearly a 50% wage hike over six years.
Truckers interviewed about the strike expressed concern, with one noting, “it’s the last thing we need right now.” With the recession not being widely discussed, truckers worry about the strike’s effects.
So, who is Harold Daggett, the ILA president at the center of this strike?
The New York Post recently published a report on Daggett, painting a less-than-flattering picture. Described as a fiery advocate for blue-collar workers, Daggett has also enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle, owning a yacht and a Bentley, while facing accusations of ties to the Mafia.
Wearing a polo shirt and a gold medallion, the 78-year-old union leader has worked at the ILA for 57 years and has been its president since 2011. During a September interview leading up to the strike, Daggett dramatically said, “They’re gonna be like this,” while mimicking a choking gesture. “I’ll cripple you. I will cripple you and you have no idea what that means. Nobody does.”
Last year, Daggett earned $728,000 from the ILA, with an additional $173,000 as president emeritus of a local union branch, according to labor department filings. Public records indicate he resides in a 7,136-square-foot home worth $1.7 million on a 10-acre lot in Sparta, New Jersey.
Daggett, who once vowed to “cripple” the U.S., owns a 76-foot yacht and a Bentley, while his earnings exceed $900,000. He was acquitted in a RICO case following the death of his co-defendant, Lawrence Ricci, a known mobster whose body was discovered decomposing in the trunk of a car in New Jersey.
In a tweet, journalist Jon Meyer shared screenshots highlighting the controversy surrounding Daggett. The screenshots noted that Daggett, a third-generation ILA member, has faced allegations of Mafia connections and was charged with racketeering in 2005. Despite the testimony of a Mafia enforcer who claimed Daggett was under mob control, Daggett portrayed himself as a target of organized crime during the trial.
One of his co-defendants in the 2005 trial, Lawrence Ricci, disappeared during the proceedings. His body was later found in a car trunk outside a New Jersey diner, with the case remaining unsolved. Despite the long history of organized crime’s influence over the ILA, as depicted in the 1954 film “On the Waterfront,” Daggett was acquitted of all charges.
Daggett has vehemently denied any ties to the Mafia and has publicly criticized the Waterfront Commission, a body established to combat mob control at ports, calling the allegations “total bulls—“ and labeling them a “dark, ugly attack on Italian Americans.”
Source: The Gateway Pundit
