Longshoremen in New Jersey and other ports from Maine to Texas are in line for significant raises after the International Longshoremen’s Association went on strike earlier this month, with top pay for dockworkers set to be $45 per hour, or roughly $93,000 per year before overtime. But even with the big pay boost, rank-and-file union members will still make only a fraction of what union leadership is paid.
Federal filings made by the union, and first reported by New Jersey Monitor, show the fiery union president Harold Daggett has a salary of nearly $900,000, with benefits like limo service and Yankees tickets to go along with it. The union’s 25 vice presidents each make hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and multiple members of the Daggett family hold highly paid leadership roles in the union.
Critics warn the Daggett family has amassed a dangerous amount of power over a union that is critical to the nation’s supply chain. But Michael Critchley, an attorney for the union, defended the executive compensation.
In a written statement to New Jersey Monitor, Critchley noted the ILA’s net assets have grown more than 300% under Daggett’s leadership while his pay has increased roughly 1% each year. Critchley added that Daggett remains committed to fighting to protect the jobs and livelihoods of dockworkers.
“Harold Daggett takes his presidential oath seriously and stands by the responsibility he has to represent ILA members and ensure their jobs are protected,” Critchley wrote. “The ILA has been wrongly accused of standing in the way of progress. The truth is, the ILA has continuously embraced advancements in business and technology that enhance the safety and efficiency of its members’ work.”
