In a social media post, the union's president Harold Daggett said the union was fighting for “the kind of wages we deserve.” In a statement on Monday, the union blamed the United States Maritime Alliance,

Approximately 50,000 ILA union longshoremen went on strike after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract with maritime companies

A week ago, few outside the labor movement or shipping industry knew Harold Daggett, the tough-talking, colorful head of the union now on strike at ports along the East and Gulf Coasts.

Port strike leader Harold Daggett has accused the New York Post of orchestrating an "ugly smear campaign" after it published images of his New Jersey home. A Post article published on October 2 and headlined,

As president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, Harold Daggett is taking advantage of organized labor’s resurgence to drive a hard bargain.