October Surprise: Did Union Boss Intentionally Strike To Help Trump?

Coincidentally, I think Trump and allies want chaos. Union boss of ILA pictured with former president. The union boss say he will cripple the economy if he doesn't get his way.

October Surprise.

Dock workers and longshoreman strike is adverted for now. They set negotiations on Jan. 15, 2025. Dockworkers agreed to suspend the strike on October 3, 2024, with their current contract extended until as negotiations continue.

President Joe Biden is working to end the strike but is the union boss trying to prolong the event to help former president Donald J. Trump?

The longshoreman strike affects Maine to Texas. It includes ports of entry in Houston, Brownsville, New Orleans, Mobile, Savannah, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, Charleston, Wilmington, NC, Newark, Norfolk, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Portland, ME. 

The International Longshoremen's Association are on strike and everyday they continue it cost the economy over $5 billion. 

In September 2024, the ILA demanded a total ban on automation of cranes, gates and containers at 36 U.S. ports. The ILA threatened to strike that month unless they would receive wage hikes and a ban on automation at U.S. ports. ILA members were offered a nearly 50% wage hike, triple employer contributions to pension plans, and better health care options while retaining current rules on automation, but the ILA rejected the offer and began a strike in October. According to Politico, the strike was primarily the decision of ILA head Harold Daggett, who had been known as a critic of the Joe Biden administration and who said the strike would "cripple" the economy prior to the 2024 presidential election. Daggett criticized a labor agreement that the ILWU, the main longshoreman's union on the West Coast, achieved in 2023 with the help of the Joe Biden administration, which boosted salaries by 32%. Daggett criticized the agreement for not doing enough to stop automation.

Negotiations between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance began breaking down in June 2024. One major sticking point was wages. The ILA wanted members to receive a $5/hour raise each year of the next six-year contract, whereas the Maritime Alliance proposed a $2.50/hour raise each year.

The U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) negotiated intensively with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) on pay raises, the latter representing East Coast and Gulf Coast port workers which handle 43% to 49% of all U.S. imports, constituting several billions of USD in trade every month. with the latter proposing an opening offer of a gradual pay raise of 77% over the course of the six-year contract to account for several years of smaller wage increases and inflation. The union also demanded that automation be completely banned for port work. The prior contract gave dockworkers starting wages between $20 to $39 per hour based on experience.

Port of Virginia in Norfolk is one of the country's busiest ports.

Following two days of negotiations, Daggett, who was part of the union the last time the association held a strike in 1977, told union members that a strike would commence at 12:01 a.m. EST on October 1 if USMX did not meet their demands, which union members gave unanimous support for. The ILA requested the pay increase due to inflation in addition to their work helping to greatly increase shipping profits during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a video statement, Daggett who is a critic of the Biden administration, threatened United States President Joe Biden's administration with a worker slowdown if they attempted to force members back to work using the Taft-Hartley Act. Under the Taft-Hartley Act, Biden could seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period that would end the strike at least temporarily, but he has told reporters that he wouldn't take that step. Biden in a statement said “As our nation climbs out of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, dockworkers will play an essential role in getting communities the resources they need. Now is not the time for ocean carriers to refuse to negotiate a fair wage for these essential workers while raking in record profits.” Ben Nolan, a transportation analyst with Stifel, said the administration isn't likely to intervene until consumers start to see empty shelves or can't find critical goods like medicines.

On the evening of September 30, the eve of the strike, the U.S. Maritime Alliance proposed a 50% pay raise and a commitment to limited incorporation of automation, but not a complete ban, as means to resume negotiations. The alliance also claimed that they had tripled port employer contributions to worker healthcare and retirement benefits. At night, the ILA made a statement accusing the alliance of refusing to incorporate their requests for a fair contract. The union called the 50% pay raise proposal "unacceptable". USMX accused ILA of refusing to negotiate, and asked labor regulators to command that the union continue them in a formal complaint. ILA dismissed the complaint as a "publicity stunt".

Coincidence?

Doggett in 1977 was involved in the strike during Jimmy Carter's administration.

Doggett in 2024 involved in the strike during Joe Biden's administration and Kamala Harris' presidential bid.

The Justice Department has lost two cases against Daggett, in which he was accused of being an associate of the Genovese crime family. In testimony at a trial in 2005, George Barone, a former Genovese "soldier" who was a Mafia enforcer before turning state's evidence, testified that Daggett was controlled by the Mafia; in his own testimony, Daggett depicted himself as a victim of the Mafia and said that Barone had threatened to kill him in 1980. Daggett and the two codefendants in the trial were found not liable in November 2005 on civil RICO charges of extortion conspiracy and fraud. One of the codefendants, Lawrence Ricci, disappeared during the trial; his body was found weeks later in a New Jersey diner decomposing with multiple gunshot wounds; the murder is still unsolved.

Daggett was reported in 2017 as owning a 76-foot yacht, the Obsession. In 2021, the yacht was sold with an asking price of $3.795 million.

He was also reported to drive a Bentley, a luxury car.

When pictures of Doggett with Trump hit the social media, the union boss became the focus of junk food media concern. Trump has allies who are willing to cause chaos to help him win. Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to start a global war. Vladimir Putin and his Russian GRU tried to put out an artificial intelligence propaganda about Harris doing a hit and run. Now Doggett who knew Trump for years was going to cripple the economy to hurt Biden. Sean O'Brien and the Teamsters refuse to endorse Harris but he spoke at the Republican National Convention. Republicans are trying to change the rules in Nebraska to eliminate single proportion electoral vote. Republicans are preparing to file lawsuits if they lose.

Yeah, it seems like a set up.