Kamala Endorses Dockworkers Strike That Union Boss Boasted Would ‘Cripple’ The Economy

Vice President Kamala Harris sided Wednesday with dockworkers who launched a massive strike this week that threatens to cripple the economy.

“This strike is about fairness,” Harris said. “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.”

Harris also threw in a barb at her opponent, accusing former President Donald Trump of making “empty promises” to workers and promising that she will “have workers’ backs” and fight for an “opportunity economy.”

“Donald Trump, on the other hand, wants to pull us back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize,” Harris said. “Donald Trump makes empty promise after empty promise to American workers, but never delivers. He thinks our economy should only work for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them.”

The dockworkers union has donated more than $1.6 million to Democrats under union president Harold Daggett, who threatened to “cripple” the economy if dockworkers did not get the contract they wanted.

Daggett endorsed President Joe Biden, but began lashing out at the White House as the strike drew near. But relations appear to be warming between the union and the administration on several fronts. Also on Wednesday, Daggett thanked Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su for speaking out in support of the striking dock workers.

Su put out a statement slamming port owners for refusing “to put an offer on the table that reflects workers’ sacrifice and contributions to their employer’s profits” as “their CEOs bring in millions of dollars in compensation per year.”

Daggett made $728,000 last year as union president, plus another $173,000 as president emeritus of the New Jersey local, POLITICO reported.

The strike snarls supply chains and is likely to cause delays or even shortages of products like coffee, bananas, cars, clothing, and Christmas decorations. The union rejected a last-minute deal from port ownership which offered the union a nearly 50% wage raise. The union had demanded higher wages and zero port automation.

President Joe Biden could pause the strike for 80 days under the Taft-Hartley Act, but he has indicated he has no intention of doing so. Some have speculated that the president is unwilling to go out of his way to help Harris after Democrats ousted him from the presidential ticket, while others have wondered if the administration is simply courting the union vote.

Harris has struggled to lock in the union vote, usually an easy voting bloc for Democrats to sway. She is the first Democratic presidential candidate to not get the Teamsters’ endorsement in nearly 30 years. Nearly 60% of the union’s 1.3 million members support Trump, internal polling found.

As the strike continues, Harris is caught between trying to appease thousands of union members and averting economic disaster. So far, she has faced an uphill battle to win over voters with her economic message, and polls show that the majority of voters favor Trump on the economy.