I am all for private sector unions and have written favorably about them* but this guy leading the longshoreman union sounds a bit whack. First up, from the New York Post, October 1:
Who is Harold Daggett, the union boss behind port strikes who makes over $900K a year and once fought Mafia-link allegations?
Fiery union boss Harold Daggett has long cast himself as a staunch advocate for blue-collar workers, even as he has lived in luxury, owning a yacht and driving a Bentley — and fought off alleged ties to the Mafia.
Sporting a polo shirt with a chunky gold medallion around his neck, the 78-year-old Daggett, who as president of the International Longshoremen’s Association is leading the port strikes stretching from Maine to Texas, was prone to theatrical flourishes in a September interview as he geared up for the strike.
“They’re gonna be like this,” Daggett said, grabbing his neck in a choking gesture. “I’ll cripple you. I will cripple you and you have no idea what that means. Nobody does.”
Since last year, Daggett has threatened to shut down the 36 ports covered by his union if “money crazy” shipping companies refused to issue wage hikes and protections for workers against industry automation.
Meanwhile, 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.
“Dude had more yachts than me!” billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk wrote in a post on X on Tuesday....
....MUCH MORE
And from the International Longshoreman's Association YouTube Channel:
A Candid Conversation With ILA President Harold J. Daggett On Wide Range of Important Topics
*Most recently, August 2023:
I'm all for workers staying ahead of inflation (plus more) and I'm all for private sector unions—although like President Roosevelt* I think public sector unions should be outlawed—when you have a situation like the United Auto Workers demanding a reduction in the workweek from 40 to 32 hours and (Detroit News, August 3):
UAW demands 46% pay hike in talks with Detroit Three automakers
You are going to have some inflationary pressure.....
*American Presidency Project:
112 - Letter on the Resolution of Federation of Federal Employees Against Strikes in Federal Service August 16, 1937
F.D.R. Warned Us About Public Sector Unions - NYTimes.com
February 18, 2011
And September 2023:
....Taking energy as an example, the rule-of-thumb the old-time traders used was 10:1 i.e. a twenty percent increase in the price of oil flowed through the economy to result in a 2% rise in the general price level.
Because the economy is so much less energy-intensive than it was when those old boys were counting on their thumbs the ratio is probably 20:1, maybe even 25:1 but it still adds up. the recent 30% or so increase in the price of oil, unless it is quickly reversed, means a 1% - 1.5% increase in CPI.
And then you have wage increases. I'm all for private-sector unions asking for as much as they think they can get, It was Samuel Gompers, labor leader extraordinaire, who rhetorically asked what labor wanted and answered "More"* but the math is the math and if the United Auto Workers get the 46% wage increase they are asking for it will raise prices.
Throw in a dozen other examples and that's my rationale for bastardizing Santayana with his "Only the dead have seen the end of war" observation: Only the dead have seen the end of inflation....
*The full quote:
Is there such a thing as the labor equivalent of price gouging, wage gouging? How about when you are threatening to cripple the economy and the country?
