09/06/2026
A MESSAGE FROM ILA INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT DENNIS A. DAGGETT:
Labor Day is an opportunity to reflect on the generations of working men and women who came before us and the sacrifices they made to build a better life for their families. For the ILA, that history can be seen in the incredible transformation of our industry and the ability of our Union to survive and evolve through it.
There was a time when nearly everything coming across our docks was physically handled by longshoremen. Breakbulk and palletized cargo required tremendous manpower, but it also required skill, experience and trust among the Longshore people working the ship. Longshore work was physically demanding and dangerous, and the people who performed it took great pride in knowing their craft and getting the job done.
Containerization changed the waterfront forever. Beginning in the late 1950s and 1960s, cargo that once required large gangs of longshoremen could suddenly be placed inside a steel or aluminum box and moved by container handling equipment. In many respects, containerization was the automation of its time, and the impact on our workforce was enormous. The Port of New York and New Jersey once had approximately 50,000 ILA members. Today, even on our busiest days, we have a little over 5,000 working. Containerization took us from 50,000 members to 5,000. We cannot afford to lose any more, and that is why we fight so hard to protect and preserve the jobs and opportunities we have today.
But the ILA survived because we evolved with the industry. Today’s longshore workforce operates and maintains some of the largest and most sophisticated cargo handling equipment in the world. Our members have become highly skilled crane and equipment operators, mechanics, clerks, checkers and just simply waterfront professionals working in complex, technology driven marine terminals. The work of yesteryear demanded physical strength and endurance, while today’s waterfront demands skill, precision and experience to safely and efficiently operate some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world. The waterfront may look completely different, but the experience, judgment and skill of the people working it remain just as important.
As we face another technological phase of challenges through automation and artificial intelligence, we must remember the lessons of our own history. We know what technology can do to a workforce, and we cannot allow another generation of good jobs to simply disappear.
Our strongest defense is to demonstrate every day why a skilled ILA workforce remains essential to this industry. Safety must always come first, because no production number is worth someone getting injured or not returning home to their family. At the same time, we must work efficiently and productively. We should never give an employer an excuse to use poor productivity as an argument for replacing our members with machines.
Technology should be used to make our members safer and more productive, not to eliminate them. Employers may continue looking for ways to reduce manpower, overtime and labor costs, but our responsibility is to continue proving the value of the human element on the waterfront, and we will continue to fight back.
The generations before us fought to give us the opportunities we have today. This Labor Day, we honor them not only by remembering what they accomplished, but by protecting what they left behind and making sure there is an opportunity for the generations that follow us.
The equipment has changed, the ships have changed and the waterfront has changed, but the responsibility of the ILA has not: protect our members, protect our jurisdiction and protect the future of longshore work!!
This weekend please keep those ILA member’s who paid the ultimate sacrifice in your thoughts and Prayers….
Happy Labor Day to our ILA family and to the working class!!
