A prime labor union chief breathlessly praised President-elect Donald Trump for proving him flawed and exhibiting {that a} Republican can champion the working class.
Dennis Daggett, the chief vp of the International Longshoreman’s Association — the union that shut down ports with a strike earlier this 12 months — mentioned his latest assembly with Trump was “an expertise I by no means imagined in my wildest goals.”
“This man actually desires to battle for America and its working class. In over 25 years of working in Washington, I’ve by no means seen a Republican take up the mantle for working-class individuals. President-elect Trump proved me flawed yesterday,” Daggett wrote on Facebook. put up.
“He didn’t simply inform us in non-public that he helps staff — he made it clear to the entire world.”
Daggett had beforehand been guarded about his opinions on Trump. But the ILA has largely backed Democrats.
Daggett and his father, ILA president Harold Daggett, met with Trump final Thursday. They talked concerning the union’s deliberations with the US Maritime Alliance, which represents port operators, transport traces and different key employers.
“It’s uncommon to satisfy a pacesetter who actually listens, and even rarer to search out one who’s keen to behave,” Daggett mentioned.
“[Trump] was not simply attentive to our considerations; he was receptive and genuinely engaged in a dialogue concerning the existential risk automation poses — not solely to the Longshore sector however to our communities and the very material of this nice nation.”
Following that assembly, Trump took on one among their prime grievances — automation.
“I’ve studied automation, and know nearly all the things there may be to learn about it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the assembly.
“The amount of cash saved is nowhere close to the misery, damage, and hurt it causes for American Workers, on this case, our Longshoremen. Foreign firms have made a fortune within the U.S. by giving them entry to our markets.”
In October, ILA went on strike for about three days earlier than reaching a brief deal that prolonged contracts till Jan. 15, shopping for time for extra negotiations.
That strike had spooked markets and raised considerations about provide chains getting snarled. It marked the primary strike by the union in practically 5 a long time.
Negotiations had been stalled amid considerations about wages and automation.
Republicans have typically been at odds with unions, skeptical that heavy-handed negotiating ways on behalf of staff may hurt job creation and the economic system writ giant.
However, underneath Trump, the Republican Party has made positive factors amongst working-class voters and shifted in a extra protectionist route relating to commerce.
Trump had famously invited Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien to the Republican National Convention in July, marking the primary time that the union’s management at spoken on the get together’s marquee gathering.
In September, the Teamsters declined to endorse a Democrat within the presidential contest for the primary time in practically three a long time.
Prior to doing so, the Teamsters launched inner polling knowledge exhibiting {that a} majority of its rank-and-file members backed Trump. Several native Teamsters chapters endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats seethed on the nationwide management for the snub.
Trump additionally drew reward from labor in November by tapping Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) as his decide for Secretary of the Department of Labor.
Chavez-DeRemer is the only real Republican lawmaker within the House to have sponsored the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which bolstered advantages for staff becoming a member of unions and blunted some provisions in state right-to-work legal guidelines, which shield staff from being compelled to hitch a union.
