NORTH BERGEN, NJ – (December 29, 2019) Harold J. Daggett enjoyed a banner year in 2019. He was unanimously re-elected to a third four-year-term as International President of the 65,000-member union and received two top maritime honors in 2019 – the Man of the Year Award from the prestigious Foreign Freight Forwarders and Brokers Association and induction into the International Maritime Hall of Fame.
It was hard to imagine that President Daggett could top the feats he and the ILA achieved the previous year when the union and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) negotiated a landmark six-year contract extension with generous pay increases, strong additions to its national health care plan and protection against fully automated terminals and equipment for the life of the contract. Both labor and management applauded the 2018 agreement as the vehicle l that would drive the industry to growth and prosperity through September 2024.
The ILA’s Quadrennial Convention, held at the Diplomat Resort Hotel in Hollywood, Florida in July 2019, not only re-elected Harold Daggett as President, it returned all his top officers to their posts: Stephen Knott as Secretary-Treasurer; Dennis A. Daggett as Executive Vice President; Wilbert Rowell as General Vice President; John D. Baker as General Organizer; Alan Robb and James Paylor as Assistant General Organizers and Benny Holland, Jr., as Executive Vice President Emeritus. The Convention featured leaders from labor, government and shipping – all who praised Harold Daggett and the ILA for being a strong, progressive union that protected its members and worked in partnership with management to grow the industry.
From labor, the ILA Convention welcomed Richard Trumka, President and Elizabeth Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer from the AFL-CIO; Terry O’Suillivan, General President of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), and Willie Adams, President, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). On the international level, Jordi Aragunde, the General Coordinator from the International Dockers’ Council brought fraternal greetings to ILA delegates from Dockers around the world. Later in 2019, Jordi would turn over the reigns of General Coordinator to the ILA’s Dennis A. Daggett.
From Government, the ILA Convention welcomed New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez and State Senate President Steve Sweeney.
Dave Adam, Chairman, and Paul DeMaria, Executive Director from USMX and John Nardi, President, New York Shipping Association were featured speakers from the Shippers, and all delivered strong, positive messages on the state of the industry and praised the leadership of the ILA.
Prior to the International Convention, ILA President Harold Daggett was honored in February 2019 by the New York-New Jersey Foreign Freight Forwarders and Brokers Association as its 2019 Man of the Year. In May, President Daggett was inducted into the International Maritime Hall of Fame.
In 2020, ILA members will have completed a third of its six-year contract and ILA President Harold Daggett will continue to press ILA Locals and membership to keep productivity high in all their respective ports.
“We want to continue to demonstrate to our employers that ILA members can out-produce automation,” said President Daggett.
In 2020, ILA President Harold Daggett will complete his first decade leading the union. His success at negotiating two six-year master contracts; protecting members against automation and expanding the ILA’s influence across the nation and around the world was articulated by AFL-CIO President Trumka in his remarks to ILA Convention delegates:
“Harold Daggett delivers on his word,” said President Trumka.