Vice President Kamala Harris might have thrown her support behind the striking dockworkers in Newark, New Jersey, but judging by the crowd’s reaction, they aren’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for her 2024 ambitions. On the third day of the strike, FOX Business’ Jeff Flock posed a simple question to the striking workers: do they support Harris?
Crickets.
EAST COAST PORT WORKERS, ON STRIKE, NO LONGER APPEAR TO SUPPORT #HARRIS, BASED ON THIS SAMPLING #KamalaHarris #BidenHarris #illegals #portstrike2024 #LizCheney #PeteButtigieg #AmericaLast #The750 #FEMAFailure #TrumpVance #Trump #Trump2024 #PortStrike pic.twitter.com/sMkSCkniwz
— VideosInTheSpotlight (@Aboutnothing77) October 3, 2024
“I have no hands,” Flock remarked as he swept his camera across the sea of silent faces, not one dockworker willing to raise a hand in favor of Harris. One man, clearly uninterested in political fanfare, simply muttered, “It’s nobody’s business.” Well, when your union is in the middle of a high-profile strike and the Vice President jumps in to support your cause, you’d think there’d be a little more excitement—or any at all. But the dockworkers’ cool response to Harris is just another sign of the lukewarm reception the Democrats are getting from some working-class Americans these days.
Harris, ever ready with a soundbite, issued a statement on Wednesday declaring the strike was about “fairness” and railing against foreign-owned shipping companies raking in “record profits.” It sounds good on paper, but the union members seemed less enthused about Harris’s message and more focused on their own leadership, specifically International Longshoreman Association President Harold J. Daggett. Sure, Daggett is under fire after it came out that he pocketed more than $900,000 last year—definitely not the paycheck of a typical dockworker. But despite the controversy, the workers are standing by him.
“He’s for us. He’s fighting for our rights. He’s fighting to stop automation,” said Maria Flechas, a crane operator who’s been with the union for 25 years. For the dockworkers, it’s not just about wages. It’s about keeping their jobs safe from automation, and they’re not ready to give that fight up, no matter how much Harris or anyone else has to say about it. Flechas was clear: “We worked our whole lives here. We want our children to work here.” It’s not just about today’s strike—it’s about the future of their industry.
Of course, in typical fashion, some in the media have painted the longshoremen as greedy for pushing back on automation and fighting for higher wages. But Flechas was quick to call out the absurdity of those claims, noting that dockworkers are feeling the pinch just like everyone else. “We don’t have cups, we don’t have paper,” she pointed out. “We’re fighting for what you need.” Her point? The strike wasn’t just about them—it was about protecting the jobs that keep America running.
However, the strike came to a temporary halt as the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance reached a tentative deal on wages and extended their contract until January 15, 2025. The agreement has provided a pause, allowing both sides to go back to the negotiating table. But let’s be real—this isn’t over yet. The strike snarled U.S. supply chains for days, threatening the availability of everything from fruits to cars, and the larger issues of job security and automation are far from resolved.
BREAKING: The East Coast Port Strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association has come to an end. The agreement has been made and the longshoremen are expected to return to work as soon as possible. Details to follow. #MoreToCome pic.twitter.com/pgE16UipGR
— Kevin Kingsley (@KevKingsleyNFL) October 3, 2024
Harris may have jumped on the bandwagon, but the dockworkers’ support—or lack thereof—was telling. The Vice President can try to position herself as a champion of the working class all she wants, but actions speak louder than words. And from the looks of it, the dockworkers are more concerned with keeping their jobs than with playing into Harris’s political ambitions.
