Harold Daggett: How union leader who fought mob tie allegations is holding the US economy to ransom

Harold Daggett isn’t afraid of a fight.

The union leader has twice won cases against the US Justice Department over alleged Mafia ties.

Now he has laid down the gauntlet to Joe Biden, threatening to “cripple” the US economy with strike action, kicking off on Tuesday, that could halt container traffic from Maine to Texas, costing billions of dollars every day.

The US East and Gulf Coast port workers walk out, from 12.01AM ET on Tuesday, came following a dispute over automation and pay.

Members of the New Jersey-based International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union, which represents 47,000 port workers, had said they would down tools if an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance employer group could not be reached.

The walkout will be the first coast-wide ILA strike since 1977, affecting ports that handle about half of the nation’s ocean shipping.

The dockworkers’ strike is already raising fears of shortages and delays for a wide range of goods, from cars and bananas to Christmas decorations, which in turn could trigger price spikes.

With fewer than 40 days to go in one of the tightest presidential races in history, the economic impact may yet play a decisive role in the minds of voters, for whom the economy is the number one issue, as they go to the polls.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/10/01/harold-daggett-union-leader-fought-allegations-mob-ties/