Biden and Harris fully support the longshoremen’s strike, which threatens to paralyze the US economy in the weeks before the election

President Biden and Vice President Harris are behind the International Longshoremen’s Association strike as thousands of port workers take to the picket lines. The ILA has called for drastic wage increases and a complete ban on automation at ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast, which the industry group says will lead to higher prices for almost everything.

Just hours after the strike began, Biden, in a statement released Tuesday, urged the industry group representing USMX shipping conglomerates to agree to a better deal for workers.

“Ocean carriers have achieved record profits since the pandemic, and in some cases profits are up more than 800 percent compared to pre-pandemic profits. Executive pay rose along with these profits, and profits were returned to shareholders at record levels. “It is only fair that workers who have put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep the ports open also see a significant increase in their wages,” Biden wrote of the ILA’s demand for a 77 percent wage increase over the next few years.

On Monday, USMX said it offered the ILA a “nearly 50 percent wage increase” that was later rejected.

In his statement, Mr. Biden made no mention of the union’s demand for a total ban on automation and robots at any East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The ILA first won this automation ban in 2018, but this time it pushed for stronger safeguards after revealing that shipping companies were using robots to operate trucks at the Port of Mobile, Alabama.

Ms Harris announced her own support for the ILA on Tuesday, risking being blamed for the inevitable supply chain problems and price increases that will follow if the strike lasts several weeks. “Lockworkers, who play a critical role in transporting essential goods across America, deserve a fair share of these record profits,” the vice president said in a statement. Like the president, she did not mention the union’s demand for a complete ban on the use of automated systems.

Ms. Harris also took time to hit out at her opponent, President Trump, for his past comments about union members and his nomination to the National Labor Relations Board while he was president.

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su also chimed in, siding with the union. She called on shipping companies to ensure that their employees “share” in the success.

“Dort workers in this country are putting their health and safety at risk to survive the pandemic so that we can get the goods we need as the Covid-19 epidemic rages on. These workers will help communities recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene,” Su said. in a statement. “Because these companies earn billions and their CEOs rake in millions in annual compensation, they have refused to provide an offer that reflects the employees’ sacrifices and contributions to the employer’s bottom line.”

Trump similarly made a statement in support of the ILA, but also made no mention of demands for an automation ban. “American workers should be able to negotiate better wages, especially since shipping companies primarily sail foreign-flagged ships,” Trump said Tuesday.

ILA President Harold Daggett praised Ms. Su as she walked through the picket line on Tuesday. “Secretary of Labor Julie Su performed admirably,” he told Fox News. “He’s breaking down the door, trying to stop it, trying to get us to (a place) where we can negotiate fairly. It’s the companies that don’t want that. They don’t want to sit here and be fair.”

Daggett has faced criticism in recent days after a video from early September began circulating online in which he promised to “cripple” American ports – all while wearing Cartier glasses, a Rolex watch and a gold chain. He painted a dark picture for the U.S. economy if his strike at the ILA drags on for just a few weeks.

“These people today don’t know what a strike is,” Mr. Daggett said ominously. “Do you know what will happen?” he asked. “Week one: It’ll be all over the news every night… Week two: Guys who sell cars can’t sell cars because cars don’t come off ships. They are fired. Week three: Shopping malls start to close. They can’t import goods from China, they can’t sell clothes.”

Mr Daggett’s salary has come under intense scrutiny in recent days due to its enormity. Mr. Daggett earned more than $700,000 in 2021, according to the nonprofit Union Facts, while the current ILA industry agreement — negotiated in 2018 — calls for a wage of $39 an hour for union workers with at least six years of experience. However, one report by the New York Waterfront Commission found that some union workers earned significantly more through overtime pay in 2020-21. That study found that one-third of union workers earn more than $200,000 a year.

Mr. Daggett’s criminal past also resurfaced in the wake of the strike, including two criminal charges filed nearly 20 years ago in connection with the New Jersey Mafia and a body rotting in the trunk of a car.

In 2005, he stood trial on charges of racketeering with New Jersey mobsters, although during his testimony he stated that he was the victim, not the perpetrator of the scheme. According to The Telegraph, one of his co-defendants, Lawrence Ricci, later disappeared and his body was found in the boot of a car a few weeks later. Ricci’s murder is still unsolved.