Documents show generous spending on wages and benefits for longshoremen’s union officials

The three-day longshoremen’s strike that threatened to bring the American economy to a standstill was a dramatic victory for 45,000 East Coast longshoremen who now face a 60% wage increase by 2030.

The tentative agreement between shipping companies and the International Longshoremen’s Association raises the top wage for workers on dozens of docks from Maine to Texas, including Baltimore, to $45 an hour next year. At that rate, longshoremen working a 40-hour week would earn up to $93,600 per year.

But even with this significant increase, the salaries of rank-and-file union members will fall far short of the compensation of a cadre of International Longshoremen’s Association executives, who earn hundreds of thousands a year while enjoying travel and entertainment benefits, including New York Yankees tickets, limousine service and memberships in the New York Athletic Club.

In 2023 alone, thirty top managers at the union assigned to its North Bergen headquarters — including 25 vice presidents, each earning $554,000 annually — received more than $9 million in salaries and other compensation, according to reports from the US – Department of Labor reports reviewed by the New Jersey Monitor.

The reports indicate that several senior union officials are paid to hold multiple leadership positions simultaneously, including high-paying “emeriti” positions for previous service with local unions. Many family members of senior executives have found a place on the ILA’s payroll, which was funded by $38 million in union dues and other fees last year. Last year, the union even hired a former member who was serving prison time after a federal fraud conviction.

ILA President Harold J. Daggett, a friend and political ally of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, received $855,261 in compensation for his leadership duties last year. Federal records show Daggett was paid an additional $194,155 as “president emeritus” of ILA Local 1804-1.

Daggett’s son Dennis received $785,877 last year for his dual leadership roles as president of Local 1804-1 and executive vice president of the ILA. Another son, John Daggett, received $642,631 for two leadership positions, vice president of the ILA Atlantic Coast District and vice president of Local 1804-1.

Daggett’s daughter, Lisa Daggett Bess, earned $210,383 as the union’s “director of political affairs.”

Union critics and law enforcement officials who have tracked illegal racketeering at the docks for decades say the staggering salaries and expenses reflect the growing power of a single family over a major American union. They point out that the ILA reached new heights of swagger and political influence during Harold Daggett’s 13 years as union president.

They point out that Daggett has long been one of the highest-paid union leaders in the country and that his pay is comparable to colleagues like United Auto Workers’ Shawn Fain, who earns about $200,000, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters boss Sean O ‘Brien was reported to have earned a salary of $250,352 last year.

“The union money is simply a piggy bank for Harold and his family,” said Walter Arsenault, a former prosecutor who prosecuted crime on the docks for 15 years as head of the now-defunct New York Harbor Waterfront Commission.

The 70-year-old two-state agency went out of business last year after New Jersey withdrew, arguing that it had outlived its usefulness and that its aggressive policing was hurting business.

“The fact is that there is little control over the activities of the union and its leaders,” Arsenault said. “Harold Daggett threatens to close the ports and comes back a few days later with a 60% raise. With that kind of power, paying union members don’t care how much he pays himself or his family. They think he’s the greatest.”

Daggett declined an interview. However, an ILA attorney defended the union leader’s salary, pointing out that Daggett’s compensation was voted on and approved by ILA members and reflected his “remarkable” performance in securing concessions for workers and improving overall union finances.

“When Harold took over as ILA president in 2011, the union was facing significant financial difficulties,” attorney Michael Critchley said in a written statement to the New Jersey Monitor. “Under his leadership, the ILA has not only recovered but, thanks to his keen business acumen, has become financially better than ever.”

According to Critchley, during Daggett’s tenure, the union’s net assets increased 307%, adjusted for inflation, while his salary increases were only about 1% per year.

“The ILA has flourished under his leadership,” he said.