Vice President Kamala Harris picked a side in the port workers' labor dispute on Wednesday, saying she supports the striking longshoremen, while also slamming former President Donald Trump, her Republican rival for the White House.
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Tens of thousands of longshoremen at ports up and down the East Coast and along the Gulf of Mexico walked off the job after failing to reach a new labor agreement by midnight on Monday.
"This strike is about fairness," Harris said in a statement obtained by The Hill. "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."
She quickly turned her attention to Trump, saying he makes "empty promises" to workers but "never delivers" on them, and claimed the GOP presidential nominee "wants to pull us back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize."
Negotiations between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) over a new six-year contract broke down after the ILA rejected the final proposal from USMX, leading to the first strike by the dock workers' union since 1977.
The union has demanded significant wage increases and a complete ban on the automation of gates, cranes, and container-moving trucks, while USMX said in a statement that its "current offer of a nearly 50% wage increase exceeds every other recent union settlement."
Harris reiterated an assertion from her campaign rallies in her statement: that Trump only cares about the skyscraper owners and not the workers who build the high-rise structures. She also pledged to get the PRO Act — pro-labor legislation — passed if elected to the Oval Office.
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"He thinks our economy should only work for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them," Harris said, referring to Trump. "As President, I will have workers' backs and finally pass the PRO Act. And I will fight for an opportunity economy — where every person has the chance not just to get by but to get ahead."
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden said the striking port workers should receive a pay raise and called for USMX to come to the table with an offer that ensures they are paid in line with their "invaluable contributions."
"As our nation climbs out of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, dockworkers will play an essential role in getting communities the resources they need," the president said in a statement. "Now is not the time for ocean carriers to refuse to negotiate a fair wage for these essential workers while raking in record profits."
The strike comes less than five weeks before the presidential election, raising political obstacles for Harris who is running as the Democrat nominee. It also has real economic consequences for both the U.S. and international economies, costing up to $5 billion per day and affecting both imported and exported goods.
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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