Longshoremen’s Union President Harold Daggett & 3 Kids Collected $2.7 Million Last Year From Union, Critics Raise Red Flags

New documents have shown luxurious spending on salary and benefits for officials at the dockworkers union.

The three-day dockworker strike, which threatened to delay the American economy, was a massive victory for 45,000 East Coast longshoremen, who are set to collect 60% pay hikes by 2030.

The tentative deal between maritime shippers and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) lifts top pay to $45 per hour next year for laborers on the New York-New Jersey docks and at over 30 other ports from Maine to Texas. 

At that rate, dockworkers putting in 40 hours a week would make, at most, $93,600 a year.

But even with that increase, pay for rank-and-file union members will be left far behind compensation for many International Longshoremen’s Association executives who make hundreds of thousands a year. 

They enjoy lavish travel and entertainment benefits, including New York Yankees tickets, limousine service and memberships at the New York Athletic Club.

In 2023, 30 top executives with the union classified under its headquarters in North Bergen had been paid over $9 million in salary and other compensation, according to U.S. Department of Labor reports reviewed by the New Jersey Monitor.

These reports show that several top union officials get paid for holding many executive positions simultaneously, like high-paying posts as “emeriti” for previous service in union locals. 

ILA President Harold Daggett received over $855,261 in compensation last year for his leadership duties. 

Federal filings show that Daggett was paid another $194,155 as “president emeritus” of ILA Local 1804-1.

His son, Dennis Daggett, was paid $785,877 in 2023 for his dual leadership roles of Local 1804-1 president and ILA executive vice president. 

Daggett’s other son, John Daggett, was paid $642,631 for serving as vice president of the ILA Atlantic Coast District and Local 1804-1.

The ILA president’s daughter, Lisa Daggett Bess, made $210,383 as the union’s “political affairs director.”

Union critics and law enforcement officials state that the salaries and spending reflect the growing power of a single-family over a massive American labor union. 

During Daggett’s 13 years as union president, the ILA reached new heights of swagger and political influence.

Daggett is among the highest-paid union leaders in the U.S., raising significant concerns among critics.

ILA attorney Michael Critchley defended his salary in a statement. 

Critchley noted that the ILA membership voted on and approved his compensation, which reflects his “remarkable” performance in winning concessions for workers and boosting union finances overall.

In an explicit tirade last year during the ILA’s national convention in Hollywood, Florida, Daggett warned that he wanted to cripple port commerce if his demands for more money and less automation had been ignored.

“Mark my words,” the company’s president proclaimed. “There’s going to be an explosion. Someone must take the bull by the horns, and that’s me … Don’t f–k with the maritime unions around the world. We will shut you down!”

Federal filings show that the union spent over $6 million to stage the convention at The Diplomat Beach Resort. 

The expenses for the gala included more than $200,000 on airline tickets, some $45,000 on limousines, and over $500,000 on merchandise and marketing materials for conventioneers.

A Maryland company hired to film the event and offer video services had been paid $1.3 million. Forty Union dignitaries serving as arms sergeants during the four-day meeting were paid over $300,000.

Among them was Paul S. Moe, an ex-dock foreman with the ILA, who was given a two-year federal prison sentence after a 2018 conviction for fraudulently collecting $500,000 a year, for which he served three months. 

Prosecutors stated that Moe worked as little as eight hours a week and spent the remainder fishing in his boat off Atlantic Highlands or taking vacations in Aruba.

In July 2023, Moe received $10,000 as a sergeant at arms during the convention. 

According to federal records, his son, Paul Moe Jr., also received $6,000 for sergeant duty.

Other union expenses included $4.6 million in legal fees, $906,000 for “lobbying and political activities,” $44,609 to the Grand Opryland Resort in Nashville, $31,958 to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines, and $199,992 to retired U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Cavanaugh for his role as “ILA Ethical Practices Officer.”

Additionally, the union spent $131,520 for Yankees “stadium tickets” in 2023 and $145,000 in 2022, when union members also paid $20,000 in “membership” fees at the New York Athletic Club.