Thousands of dockworkers at major ports from Maine to Texas walked off the job Monday and went on strike.
The strike’s timing could slow the arrival of much-needed supplies for Hurricane Helene’s disaster relief efforts.
And Ron DeSantis put Kamala Harris in a tough spot with this announcement about the striking union dockworkers.
Since Monday night, 45,000 dockworkers across 14 major ports have been on strike for higher pay and job security. Since then, they have suspended the strike, throwing Harris a lifeline.
The strike was called by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union.
With 14 major ports closed, concerns were growing that the strike could lead to shortages and make inflation skyrocket.
“The strike, the biggest of its kind in nearly half a century, has blocked unloading of container ships from Maine to Texas, threatening shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts, and triggering a backlog of ships anchored up outside major ports,” Reuters reported.
Port Tampa, Port Miami, and Port Everglades were shut down by the striking dockworkers.
Hurricane Helene smashed into Florida’s coastline last week and left a massive path of destruction behind.
Rescue efforts are still underway in North Carolina, where over 600 people are still missing.
Recovery efforts are also underway in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and the other areas hit by the storm.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was furious that the striking dockworkers could harm the hurricane relief efforts.
And in a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis slammed the union and called on the Biden-Harris administration to intervene and end the strike.
“Now is not the time,” DeSantis declared. “I think it’s totally unacceptable to try to intentionally deprive people of the supplies,” he continued. “They need to be able to rebuild their homes when they have been displaced by a natural disaster.”
DeSantis slammed the Biden-Harris administration for dragging its feet on helping the victims of Hurricane Helene.
“The federal government should be doing all they can to make sure all the supplies continue to come in here unabated and there is the prospect of things that are critical for the rehabbing and recovery of here and other parts of Florida that may get hung up in some of this work stoppage,” he said.
DeSantis reminded the union and the Biden-Harris administration that there was an “emergency situation in our country, not just in Florida, but in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee in particular.”
But then DeSantis reminded Kamala Harris that she had to face the voters in one month and said “I think it would be a really, really bad look for the Biden-Harris administration to allow supplies to just be sitting in the Atlantic Ocean just on ships that are just idling when you have people, not just here in Pinellas County, but up our entire Gulf coast and the Big Bend, who need it.”
“So, it is a concern,” he continued. “It’s not something that will be good if they allow this to happen and I’ll do whatever I can to avert it.”
But DeSantis was not waiting around on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
He told reporters that he was looking to see “if there’s anything” he could do at the state level to end the strike, including using the National Guard to move goods.
“I’m committed to pulling whatever levers I can to make sure that that happens,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I can to avert it.”
The striking dockworkers put Kamala Harris in a tight spot.
Big Labor is the biggest donor to the Democrat Party.
Kamala knew she could not come out and attack the union boss for calling the strike.
But she also knows the economy is the most important issue for voters.
It became evident that if the striking dockworkers sent the economy into a free fall, then Kamala Harris will go down in flames on November 5. Thus, the suspension of the strike until after the election.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
