A Statement From President Harold Daggett, International Longshoremen’s Association, on Supreme Court Decision Allowing New Jersey To Withdraw From Waterfront Commission

The International Longshoremen’s Association is extremely happy with today’s unanimous Supreme Court decision allowing New Jersey to unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission.

The Waterfront Commission long ago abandoned its original purpose, and instead took advantage of the fact that it had no oversight by the New Jersey state government. The Commission has used this unfettered power to advance the interests of its own employees, while hurting the hiring and economic needs of the Port. Also, the Commission even began interfering in the collective bargaining rights of port workers.

Worst of all, the Commission made a habit of harassing and retaliating against the honest, hardworking women and men of the ILA, purely because they exercised their federally guaranteed right to be a member of a union.

It was 2015 when New Jersey’s elected representative overwhelmingly voted to pull the state out of the bistate agreement that established the Commission.

But for the past eight years the Commission spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby and litigate in an attempt to flout the will of the people of New Jersey. Today the Supreme Court recognized that the people of New Jersey have the right to be free of this rogue agency, which was working to hurt the New Jersey economy.

The ILA welcomes the arrival of the New Jersey State Police to the Port of New Jersey, recognizing that they will finally bring professionalism, transparency and accountability to administration of the Port.