PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump has appeared to declare his support for the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) in its ongoing contract battle with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).
In a recent post on social media platform Truth Social, president-elect Trump detailed his opposition to the concept of automation on American ports, emphasising his preference for foreign companies to spend their profits on American dockworkers.
The post followed a meeting that took place last Thursday (12 December) between president-elect Trump, ILA President Harold J. Daggett and ILA Executive Vice President Dennis A. Daggett.
In the post, president-elect Trump claimed “I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it”, and stated the amount of money automation may save is “nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen”.
The post put to bed speculations from the media and industry as to the incoming president’s stance on the currently stalled port negotiations, ahead of the fast-approaching 15 January deadline next year, just five days before president-elect Trump’s second inauguration.
The USMX released its own statement on the president-elect’s recent involvement, stating “It’s clear President-elect Trump, USMX, and the ILA all share the goal of protecting and adding good-paying American jobs at our ports”.
The port employers coalition reclarified its belief modern technology is needed to improve safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen supply chains.
“ILA members’ compensation increases with the more goods they move – the greater capacity our ports have and goods that are moved means more money in their pockets,” the USMX said.
“[This] contract goes beyond our ports – it is about supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace – from farmers, to manufacturers, to small businesses, and innovative start-ups looking for new markets to sell their products.”
President-elect Trump promoted an “America First” stance in his post, saying, “Foreign companies have made a fortune in the U.S. by giving them access to our markets. They shouldn’t be looking for every last penny knowing how many families are hurt”.
“They’ve got record profits, and I’d rather these foreign companies spend it on the great men and women on our docks, than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced.
“In the end, there’s no gain for them, and I hope that they will understand how important an issue this is for me. For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American Workers, instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries.”
In a post on Facebook, ILA executive president Dennis A. Daggett praised president-elect Trump for being “attentive to our concerns…receptive and genuinely engaged in a discussion about the existential threat automation poses”.
The meeting was reportedly the second in 13 months between Harold Daggett and president-elect Trump, and took place at the latter’s Mar-A-Lago office in Palm Beach, Florida.
Mr Daggett said he “enjoys a strong relationship with president-elect Donald Trump that goes back decades”.
