President-elect Donald Trump thanked the president of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) for crediting him with helping to negotiate a new contract for the union.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump posted a statement from the ILA in which Harold J. Daggett, who serves as the International President of the ILA, praised Trump for having “proven” himself “to be one of the best friends of working men and women in the United States.”
“Thank you, and congratulations, to the International Longeshoremen’s Association!” Trump wrote.
In the statement from Daggett, he cited “a face-to-face meeting he had with President-Elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago” in December, as being “the chief reason the ILA” had been able to “win protections against automation for his 85,000 members, and negotiate a tentative Master Contract Agreement.”
Daggett stated that Trump had “demonstrated his unwavering support” for the ILA and longshoremen workers.
“President Trump clearly demonstrated his unwavering support for our ILA union and longshore workers with his statement ‘heard round the world’ backing our position to protect American longshore jobs against the ravages of automated terminals,” Daggett said in a statement.
Reuters reported that a “tentative labor deal” had prevented “potentially damaging trade disruptions” from occurring at roughly three dozen ports along the East Coast of the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico.
