ILA President Harold Daggett Says Time Has Come For Shippers To Respect and Reward ILA Workers With Great Contract Or “We Will Hit the Streets!”
NORTH BERGEN, NJ (July 21, 2024). Thank you, Dennis for telling the world how special our jobs are; if it wasn’t for the dockworkers around the world these companies would not be rich companies that they are today. We are the dockers from around the world who made these companies what they are today. And now they’re looking to get rid of us piece by piece.
We took them from when they all started with little and brought them to where they are today. They are all greedy because they’re making billions of dollars off the backs of longshoreman around the world.
It’s time for the whole world to see how important these workers around the world are and Dennis, you explained it very, very well. I’m so proud very proud of you. What you have said and what you have been doing for this great union and the unions around the world. We will not take a step back.
We demand to have the best contracts because, we brought the shippers to where you are make no mistake. They would not be making this kind of money if it wasn’t for Longshore workers around the world.
The ILA lost 35 members during the pandemic and hundreds of us got sick just to keep the cargo moving so the companies would stay ahead and make money. Now they don’t want to sit down the table and give us a good share of the money they made.
Well, it’s time!
We haven’t had a strike since 1977. It’s time we hit the streets! I demand that my longshoreman be taken care of, and their families and we will never allow automation to come into our union and try to put us out of work as long as I’m alive and my son Dennis is alive. We’re going to keep this Union strong. Trust me on that. I want to thank everybody for being behind me to show these companies. We are not afraid we will fight for our rights, and we will come out with a great contract!