Dockworkers suspend strike hours after DeSantis calls the National Guard to deploy at Florida's ports (2024)

CV NEWS FEED // The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) labor union and a United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) agreed to a tentative deal on Thursday evening that suspended the ILA’s strike until at least early next year.

The deal came hours after Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called the National Guard to deploy at the four ports in the state where it was on strike.

Via a joint statement, the ILA and the USMX announced that they “reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025, to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues.”

Per ABC News, the USMX is “a shipping industry group representing terminal operators and ocean carriers.”

“The strike had shut down 14 ports along the East and Gulf Coasts since Tuesday,” ABC reported.

As multiple sources reported, if the strike continued, it could have resulted in severe consequences for the nation’s economy, such as supply chain disruptions, food shortages, increased inflation, and unemployment.

DeSantis had announced his plan to take action in an X (formerly Twitter) post Thursday afternoon where he called out the “inaction of the Biden-Harris Administration.”

>> TUESDAY: DOCKWORKERS UNION STRIKES WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR SUPPLY CHAIN <<

“Disrupting the distribution of food, equipment, and supplies as the Southeast U.S. recovers from Hurricane Helene is unacceptable,” the Catholic governor stressed. “Floridians need a reliable, steady supply of resources and building materials to keep their families fed and rebuild their homes and businesses.”

Much of Florida was impacted by the devastating which resulted in a state death toll of at least 19.

Days before DeSantis’ announcement, President Joe Biden told a reporter that he would not use his authority under the Taft-Hartley Act to intervene in the strike.

DeSantis directed that the “Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard will be deployed to ports affected by the strike to maintain order and, where possible, resume operations at ports which are otherwise shut down.”

“Unlike the federal government, Florida is taking decisive action to ensure that our economy continues to function and that victims of Hurricane Helene will have access to what they need to rebuild,” DeSantis wrote.

Some observers credited DeSantis with helping to end the potentially catastrophic strike.

“Ron DeSantis single handedly ended the dockworkers strike,” wrote journalist and columnist Dustin Grage on X (formerly Twitter). “There is no coincidence this happened just hours after he opened up the ports through the Florida National Guard. This man is a hero.”

The Daily Signal columnist Tony Kinnett wrote: “DeSantis humiliated Biden by announcing that he’d send in the Florida National Guard to guard & run the ports and hours later the strike disintegrated. Amazing.”

Of the four Florida ports that had been directly affected by the ILA strike, three are on the Atlantic coast – Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale), PortMiami (Miami), and JAXPORT (Jacksonville) – and one is on the Gulf coast, Port Tampa Bay (Tampa).

Also on Thursday afternoon, National Review reported that “Florida remains in a state of emergency as the DeSantis administration carries out hurricane recovery statewide.”

“DeSantis is managing Florida’s efforts to help residents with power restoration, food and water, clearing debris, finding missing persons, damage assessment, and other vital services in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s destruction,” National Review indicated:

DeSantis’s rapid and successful emergency management following Hurricane Helene allowed Florida to quickly send resources to North Carolina and Tennessee, two states suffering from extreme devastation wrought by the storm.

>> BIDEN-HARRIS FEMA GAVE OVER A BILLION DOLLARS TO MIGRANTS <<