Get With the Times, ILA Tells USMX, And Stop Your Propaganda Campaign; Management Raking In Billion Dollar Profits in 2024 While Offering ILA Longshore Workers 1980-Level Wages and Benefits
NORTH BERGEN, NJ (September 10, 2024) The leaders of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) slammed United States Maritime Alliance in a message to their members over the past weekend, charging that “USMX’s corporate greed has made them delusional – profits over people.”
ILA President Harold Daggett and ILA Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett co-signed a message to the ILA’s 85,000 members on Saturday, September 7 providing them with the stark message that the two sides were far apart on many issues and warned ILA longshore workers against USMX’s propaganda campaign “designed to mislead and divide us.”
USMX contract proposal, they charged, failed to recognize the current economic conditions, including inflation that ILA longshore workers and their families face in 2024.
The ILA leaders attacked USMX’s claim that they were offering industry-leading wages.
“Their interpretation of ‘leading wages’ is polar opposite to ours,” the ILA leaders said. “Inflation has completely eaten into any raises and wages. Everything has become more expensive, even compared to six years ago. Our members are struggling to pay their mortgages, rent, car payments, groceries, utility bills, taxes, and in some cases, their children’s education. USMX’s corporate greed has made them delusional – profits over people. They have taken advantage of a low entry wage and a tiered progression system for thirty years. We outright reject their position on the new entry wage.”
The union leaders further charged that USMX was “trying to fool you with promises of workforce protections for semi-automation.”
“We don’t want any form of semi-automation or full automation,” the ILA said. “We want our jobs -the jobs we have historically done for over 132 years.”
The top ILA leaders described another important aspect of the Master Contract Agreement – Container Royalty. They reminded ILA members that container royalty was originally negotiated as a supplemental wage and that all container royalty money belonged to the ILA and its members.
“Our members should never have to share their container royalty money with the ocean carriers, who are currently making record profits,” they wrote.
The ILA leaders pledge to keep ILA members up-to-date and repeated their warning to disregard misinformation coming from USMX.
“Disregard any information coming from management,” they wrote. “These are the same people who circumvent your contract every day and drag their feet in the grievance and arbitration process. These are the same people who act like ‘Big Brother’, watching your every move and creating hostile work environments by putting cameras in our workstations and equipment.”
Harold and Dennis Daggett remain confident and inspired by the ILA membership.
“As frustrated as we are with our employers, it’s almost comical that they believe our members would fall for this nonsense,” they said. “We are a rank-and-file-first administration, and we are taking on this fight for you and your families!
“Stay strong, stay united and we will prevail,” they added.