Dennis A. Daggett To Speak At Florida Reception Honoring 2 ILA Charleston Local Presidents

NORTH BERGEN, NJ – (September 27, 2019) Dennis A. Daggett, Executive Vice President of the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO, and President of ILA Local 1804 will be the featured speaker tonight at the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Region III Annual Honoree Reception held at Embassy Suites by Hilton in Boca Raton, Florida.

Two ILA local presidents from the Port of Charleston, South Carolina – Leonard Bailey from Local 1422-A and Lance W. McLaughlin from Local 1771 are the 2019 Distinguished Honorees. Everett Kelley, Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees and Vicki Hall, President, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Florida CN 79 are also slated to receive honors.

“We are proud to salute two outstanding labor leaders from the ILA Port of Charleston, South Carolina,” said Mike D. Payne, ILA Local 1526 Ft. Lauderdale and the leader of Region CBTU Region III. “And honored to have a special person from our International Executive leadership – Dennis A. Daggett, our ILA Executive Vice President as the featured speaker at our Honorees Reception. It should be a special evening, especially for the ILA members and families who will be attending.”

Leonard A. Bailey is the current president of ILA Local 1422-A in Charleston, South Carolina, a position he was first elected to in 2008. Leonard began his ILA career as an ILA mechanic in September 1992 and went on to be appointed Shop Steward in 1995. He served as a Trustee of ILA Local 1422-A from 2002 to 2005. Prior to his election as President of ILA Local 1422-A in 2008, he served as the local’s Vice President form 2005 to 2008.

A year ago, Brother Bailey was elected as a Vice President and Executive Board member for the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District.

A native of Edisto Island, South Carolina, Brother Bailey is married to Sonja Bailey and serves as an Associate Minister at the Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Lance W. McLaughlin began his ILA career in the mid-1980s working as a clerk and checker at the Port of Charleston, South Carolina as a member of ILA Local 1771.

From 2007 to 2010, Brother McLaughlin served on the Executive Board of his local. In 2010, Brother McLaughlin was elected Vice President of Local 1771.

He became President of ILA Local 1771 in 2016 and he currently sits on local safety boards and has been on the South Carolina Maritime Board since 2012.

The ILA has a long partnership with the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and many ILA members, like Mike D. Payne, serve in leadership positions with the organization.

“CBTU is a fiercely independent voice of black workers within the trade union movement, challenging organized labor to be more relevant to the needs and aspirations of Black and poor workers,” as described in the CBTU website. (cbtu.org).

“It’s an honor for me to join my ILA friend and ILA colleague Mike D. Payne at tonight’s CBTU Region III Honorees Reception as we honor Leonard Bailey and Lance W. McLaughlin,” said Dennis A. Daggett, ILA Executive Vice President. “I thank Brother Payne for inviting me as the featured speaker. I have always admired the CBTU and the work they have done advancing collective bargaining rights for African Americans. We were proud to welcome CBTU President Terry L. Melvin to our ILA convention this past summer and I am thrilled that CBTU’s founding president William “Bill” Lucy is scheduled to be at tonight’s reception.”