As of today, the International Longshoreman’s Association (“ILA”) is on strike at 45 ports along America’s eastern and southern shores. It is demanding a huge wage increase and the end of automation. Harold Daggett, the ILA’s president, has gone on record saying, “I will cripple” America. Even assuming the normal posturing in these negotiations, that’s a singularly ugly threat. Although Daggett successfully pushed back against DOJ charges that he’s a member of the mob, that has a “mob-like” feel.
Who is Harold Daggett?
Although he presents himself as a working stiff fighting the big guy, he is an extremely wealthy man:
Daggett — has worked at the ILA for 57 years and took the helm as president in 2011 — raked in $728,000 in compensation last year from the ILA.
He collected another $173,000 as president emeritus of a local union branch, according to labor department filings.
He lives in a 7,136 square-foot house valued at $1.7 million on a 10-acre lot in Sparta, New Jersey, according to Zillow and NJ Property Records.
By comparison, his fellow union bosses at the AFL-CIO, Teamsters and autoworkers unions earn less than $300,000 a year, according to a Politico report.
Daggett formerly owned the Obsession – a 76-foot yacht – and his family reportedly saw him zipping around in a Bentley, according to The New York Times.