Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday expressed support for the protesting longshoremen after a large number of dockworkers went on strike when a new labour agreement couldn’t be reached, reported the Hill.
Backing the protester, Harris said, “This strike is about fairness. Foreign-owned shipping companies have made record profits and executive compensation has grown.The Longshoremen, who play a vital role transporting essential goods across America, deserve a fair share of these record profits”.
Targeting Donald Trump, the Democratic Presidential candidate accused the former US President of trying to “pull us back to a time before workers had the freedom to organise,” criticising his approach to workers’ rights as making “empty promises” but “never delivers.”
Earlier, Trump had blamed the strike on inflation, which he said was caused by the Biden-Harris administration.
“Everybody understands the dockworkers because they were decimated by this inflation, just like everybody else in our country and beyond,” Fox News Digital quoted Trump as saying in an interview.
Harris also reiterated the point she often makes during her rallies, which is of accusing Trump of favouring the wealthy and disregarding the rights of workers. “He thinks our economy should only work for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them,” Harris said. “As President, I will have workers’ backs and finally pass the PRO Act. And I will fight for an opportunity economy, where every person has the chance not just to get by but to get ahead.”
This strike, which is the first by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) in almost 50 years, was caused by a breakdown in negotiations between the union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).
The hill reported that the longshoremen are demanding wage increases and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates, and container-moving trucks. The USMX confirmed on Monday that counteroffers had been exchanged concerning wages, but no agreement was reached.
The ILA represents 45,000 port workers. USMX had offered the union a 50% wage hike, but the ILA’s fiery leader, Harold Daggett said the union is pushing for more, including a $5 per hour raise for each year of the new six-year contract and an end to port automation projects that threaten union jobs.
“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay out on strike for whatever period of time it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation our ILA members deserve,” Daggett said on Tuesday.
The strike poses both political and economic challenges for the Biden-Harris administration. The ongoing stoppage is reportedly costing the US and international economy as much as $5 billion per day, disrupting exports and imports at crucial ports across America.
Biden himself also commented on the strike on Tuesday, urging the USMX to present a fair offer to the workers, emphasising the need for wage increases.