Harris Supports Port Strikers Amidst Hurricane Recovery Effort

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris for supporting striking port workers, who have the potential to cripple the U.S. economy.

DeSantis voiced his strong opposition to Harris’s stance, arguing that her support for the striking dock workers will hinder vital recovery efforts for victims of Hurricane Helene and exacerbate supply chain disruptions.

The strike, which began at midnight on Tuesday, involves tens of thousands of dock workers who are members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA).

The workers walked off the job at major ports along both the East and Gulf coasts after the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the ILA failed to reach a new labor agreement by the deadline.

The failed negotiations mark the first major strike by port workers in nearly 50 years and threatens to create widespread economic fallout.

Vice President Harris, instead of calling for a swift resolution to the strike, voiced her support for the workers, a move that drew immediate backlash from DeSantis.

“This strike is about fairness. Foreign-owned shipping companies have made record profits, and executive compensation has grown,” she remarked on Wednesday.

“The Longshoremen, who play a vital role transporting essential goods across America, deserve a fair share of these record profits,” Harris added.

She also took the opportunity to criticize her political rival, former President Donald Trump, for allegedly opposing workers’ rights to organize.

Harris said that Trump “wants to pull us back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize,” and accused him of making “empty promises” to workers that he never delivers on.

“He thinks our economy should only work for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them,” she remarked about Trump.

Harris noted that she would “fight for an opportunity economy,” so all Americans have “the chance not just to get by but to get ahead.”

At a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis stressed the urgency of maintaining the flow of goods and supplies, especially for hurricane-hit areas.

“One of the things I’m concerned about is potentially these ports getting hung up,” the Florida governor commented.

“I think it’s totally unacceptable to try to intentionally deprive people of the supplies they need to rebuild their homes when they’ve been displaced by a natural disaster.”

“We should be doing all we can,” DeSantis continued, “the federal government should be doing all they can, to make sure all the supplies continue to come in here unabated.”

He pointed out that the ongoing recovery efforts, which include distributing building materials and essential goods to storm-ravaged areas, could be delayed for weeks or even months if the strike continues.

“Now is not the time,” DeSantis stated. “You already have people that are reeling. You have people that are on their backs. Let’s do everything we can to accelerate the relief.”

“Make sure that they have the equipment, make sure they have the supplies that they need to be able to rehab their properties and rebuild their homes,” he went on.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has also sided with the striking workers, urging calling on USMX to present an offer that includes higher wages.

In addition to hampering the hurricane relief effort, the strike is expected to cost up to $5 billion a day.

“I think it would be [a] really, really bad look for the Biden-Harris administration to allow supplies to just be sitting in the Atlantic Ocean,” DeSantis warned.

“It’s not something that will be good if they allow this to happen.”