ILA President Harold J. Daggett Welcomes U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh To Port of Charleston, South Carolina Who Praises ILA Workers and Reaffirms Support For Union Workers

November 5, 2021
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CHARLESTON, SC. (November 3, 2021) International President Harold J. Daggett welcomed United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to the Port of Charleston, South Carolina, joined by hundreds of ILA members from Locals 1422, 1422-A and 1771. The Labor Secretary’s visit sent a powerful message around the Port of Charleston and elsewhere that the ILA stands firm in its commitment to fight for jobs and jurisdiction protections for its members and has the support of the Biden Administration.

“The ILA welcomes our friend, and the United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to the Port of Charleston,” said President Daggett, surrounded by International ILA Executive Vice President Dennis A. Daggett; South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District President Alan Robb and Secretary-Treasurer Bill Williams and the leaders of the ILA Locals in the Port of Charleston, Ken Riley, President of Local 1422; Leonard Baily, President of ILA Local 1422-A; and Lance McLaughlin, President 1771 along with hundreds of their ILA members. “Secretary Walsh, you came here today to show your support for the women and men of the ILA – they are America’s Font-line heroes who kept cargo moving throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and are keeping cargo moving, without backlogs, protecting America’s vital supply chain.”

Secretary Walsh expressed deep gratitude for the ILA workforce at the Port of Charleston and all ILA ports across America. “I thank you ILA members, I thank you for your work. When President Biden thanks workers across America, he’s thanking ILA members.”

“We need to respect the worker,’ Secretary Walsh said. “We need to respect you, the ILA workers.”

International President Daggett reminded Secretary Walsh that President Biden’s presidential campaign got a jump start in 2020 with his Democratic primary victory in South Carolina.

“You’re a friend of the ILA in Boston,” President Daggett said to Secretary Walsh, who served as Mayor of the City of Boston for seven years prior to his appointment by President Biden last January as Secretary of Labor, “and now at every ILA port from Maine to Texas – especially here in Charleston, South Carolina.