ILA, the “I LOVE AMERICA” Union, will Maintain its Longstanding Pledge to Handle Military Cargo During Strike; Passenger Cruise Ships will also be Unaffected by October 1st Strike at Atlantic and Gulf Ports
NORTH BERGEN, NJ – (September 25, 2024) The International Longshoremen’s Association’s 85,000 members will continue to honor its century-plus pledge to handle all military cargo, even if there is a coast wide strike beginning next Tuesday, October 1, 2024. The union will also continue to work passenger cruise vessels.
“Dating back to World War 1, the ILA was always proud to note that ‘ILA Also Means Love America’ when it came to its “No Strike Pledge” in handling U.S. military cargo at all its ports,” said ILA President Harold Daggett, who served in the U.S. Navy and saw combat duty during the Vietnam War. “We continue our pledge to never let our brave American troops down for their valour and service and we will proudly continue to work all military shipments beyond October 1st, even if we are engaged in a strike.”
The ILA’s Military Consultant, Gen. (Ret.) Tim McHale, weighed in on the ILA’s “No Strike Pledge” for U.S. Military cargo: “The U.S. Government representatives I have been engaging with are very happy and satisfied with the ILA who have always been there in tough situations, and always successfully accomplished the mission. Our U.S. Military knows that the ILA will conduct military load out operations even if there is a strike by ILA.”
ILA President Daggett also noted that ILA Longshore workers will continue to work Passenger Cruise vessels at all ILA ports, to not inconvenience the tens of thousands of Americans who have booked trips in advance.
“We understand that many families plan and pay for cruises vacations on passenger ships more than a year out, and we don’t want them to be disappointed or inconvenienced in any way.” said President Daggett. “For almost three years during the worst of the pandemic, the cruise ship industry was shut down, and our ILA rank-and-file members handling passenger cruise vessels lost a lot of manhours.”
