Harold J. Daggett, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), wrote to US president Joe Biden criticising the administration’s Federal Maritime Commissioner Louis E. Sola for his “disparaging comments about the ILA”.
Harold J. Daggett sent a message to Biden slamming Sola for an “unwarranted attack on the working women and men represented by the ILA in the port of Charleston”.
In particular, the ILA leader said that the FMC Commissioner engaged in anti-labor and anti-union tactics by blasting the ILA as somehow blocking the use of the Leatherman Terminal at the Port of Charleston, contributing to port congestion and ship-borne pollution that work in idleness.
The pending Leatherman Terminal dispute is currently before the National Labor Relations Board.
Through his letter, ILA president Daggett called on Joe Biden to reject Commissioner Sola’s request for presidential intervention in the pending dispute.
“ILA-represented workers continue to work hard every day in order to move cargo expeditiously through the port of Charleston,” noted ILA president Daggett, adding, “There have been no slowdowns or job actions at Leatherman Terminal or anywhere else in the port of Charleston.”
He further stated in the letter that the ILA at the Port of Charleston was responsible for reducing the backlog of 30 container ships waiting off the coast of Charleston in February 2022 to almost zero ships today.
According to the ILA, FMC Commissioner overstated his request for presidential intervention and had no idea to label the dispute as a “right to work” issue.
“His misunderstanding that the matter involves a right-to-work issue makes clear that federal labor law is not within the FMC’s jurisdiction or competence,” pointed out Daggett.
ILA president Daggett concluded his message to president Biden, asking him to “reject Commissioner Sola’s request to intervene and allow the (NLRB) Board to render a decision in due course.”
