Port strike union leader Harold Daggett: What to know
Fox Business correspondent Lydia Hu has the latest on the dockworkers' strike after speaking with International Longshoremen's Association International President Harold J. Daggett.
International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) President Harold Daggett jumped into the national spotlight as he led negotiations for unionization at ports in the United States.
The ILA began its first strike since 1977 early Tuesday, with Daggett leading the charge following the union's six-year contract with the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents Port employersExpired
Harold Daggett, president of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), Center, speaks to picketing workers outside the APM Container Terminal at the Port of Newark in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
According to Daggett's biography on the ALI website, he was first elected union president in 2011 and is currently serving his fourth four-year term after more than 60 years in the industry. The text credits him with winning “groundbreaking protections for his ILA members against the tyranny of automation” over the past decade.
Daggett also served as president of Local 1804-1 for 14 years, stepping down in 2011 when he was named local president emeritus. The ALI bio notes that the union honored Daggett by erecting a statue of him outside its headquarters in 1804-1 in North Bergen, New Jersey in 2023.
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Union filings with the Department of Labor indicate Daggett was paid $728,000 by ALI last year, and another $173,000 from 1804-1.
Daggett's eldest son, Dennis Daggett, currently serves as the ILA's executive vice president and 1804-1 president. Dennis was paid $388,000 and $314,000, respectively, by the labor group last year, filings show.
Harold J. Daggett, president of the International Longshoremen's Association, speaks during a strike by dockworkers at the Maher Terminal in Port Newark on Oct. 1, 2024, in New Jersey. (via BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP Getty Images/Getty Images)
In 2017, the New York Times reported that “the Justice Department, which has lost two cases against [Harold] Daggett, described him as an 'associate' of the Genovese crime family whose rise through the union ranks was part of the mob's plan.”
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The Times also noted that, at the time, the ILA president owned a 76-foot yacht, the Obsession, and Daggett was seen riding in a Bentley by members.
News of Daggett's salary and lavish lifestyle drew attention on social media on Tuesday, and a report that the union leader sold his yacht last year – one of the world's richest men – prompted Elon Musk to joke, “Dude had more yachts than me!”
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