Harold Daggett
Harold J. Daggett, president of the International Longshoremen's Association speaks as dockworkers at the Maher Terminals in Port Newark are on strike on October 1, 2024 in New Jersey. Officials at 14 ports along the US East and Gulf Coasts were making last-minute preparations on September 30 for a likely labor strike that could drag on the US economy just ahead of a presidential election -- despite last-minute talks. BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images

The president of the union that represents striking port workers made an ominous warning about the U.S. economy.

In the video, said, "I will cripple you."

45,000 longshoremen are striking at 36 East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The union is fighting for higher wages and trying to block automation at ports where its members work.

The USMX, which represents shipping companies and port associations, said Monday evening that it offered to raise the salaries by 50% over six years and keep contractual limits on automation that could eliminate jobs, according to the Associated Press.

Union members now earn a base salary of about $81,000 a year but overtime can push that past $200,000.

Daggett said on Tuesday the union wants 61.5% raises and a complete ban on automation.

U.S. port operators and shipping companies say the strike could cost the U.S. economy up to $7.5 billion a week.

Daggett laid out a series of dire scenarios that he claims would play out over the weeks.

He claimed that during the second week of a strike, auto salesmen will have no inventory to sell and will be laid off.

Daggett said by the third week "malls start closing down."

"Everything in the United States comes in on a ship," he said and claimed construction workers would be the next group facing layoffs because they wouldn't have access to building supplies like steel and lumber.

"Who's going to win here in the long run?" Daggett asked. "In today's world, I'll cripple you. I will cripple you and you will have no idea what that means."

The strike comes just a month before the presidential election and some people speculate that Daggett timed it to help Donald Trump's campaign. An old photo of the two appearing together resurfaced this week on X.

The union has not made an endorsement in this year's election but backed Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Who is Harold Daggett?

Dagget has been president of the International Longshoremen's Association since 2011. He is serving his fourth four-year term.

A third-generation ILA member, Daggett followed in the footsteps of his father and namesake, Harold Daggett, Sr., who worked in the ILA industry for 57 years, his biography on the union's website states.

The father of three children—Lisa, Dennis, and John—Harold resides in Sparta, New Jersey. He also has six grandchildren and two great-grandsons.

The New York Times reported in 2017 that the Justice Department described Daggett as an "associate" of the Genovese crime family. He has denied those claims.

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