Harris hails striking dockworkers, swipes at Trump's record

Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday embraced striking dockworkers and bashed former President Donald Trump’s labor policies in her first public comments since a work stoppage at ports across the East and Gulf Coasts began Tuesday.

She said in a statement that “foreign-owned shipping companies have made record profits” and the union workers “deserve a fair share” of that money. As tens of thousands of members of the International Longshoremen's Association hit the picket line, Harris also sought to use the moment to draw a contrast with Trump on his labor record.

“As president, he blocked overtime benefits for millions of workers, he appointed union busters” to the National Labor Relations Board, she said, “and just recently, he said striking workers should be fired.”

Trump had previously tried to wield the strike against the Democrats. In a statement Tuesday, he said “American workers should be able to negotiate for better wages” and blamed the strike on “inflation brought on by Kamala Harris’ two votes for massive, out-of-control spending.”

Trump has long benefited from an image among some voters as a successful businessman who is well-equipped to manage the economy. Trump leaned into that impression when he was running this year against President Joe Biden, whom many Americans blame for inflation and high prices.

But after Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Harris managed to shake off some of that baggage, and opinion polls have shown her narrowing the gap with Trump about who can handle the economy better. If this strike drags on, though, the economic fallout from spiking prices and commodity shortages could imperil that progress.

Trump has also had success, especially in 2016, in cutting into his Democratic opponents’ margins among rank-and-file union members even as their labor leaders have come out against him. Union voters are a key voting bloc in battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, and both candidates are seeking to use the strike to win their favor.

Other prominent Democrats on the national stage, such as Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, are lining up behind the dockworkers so far. Moore was heading to the Port of Baltimore to stand with striking ILA workers Wednesday afternoon, said a source close to the governor who was granted anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media about the matter.

Moore has had recent involvement with advocating for dockworkers — following the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Moore acted to get port workers cash assistance while the channel was closed.

“The governor feels for these workers and their families and is standing shoulder to shoulder with them and wants to make sure the shipping companies treat them fairly,” the person close to Moore said. “He believes they deserve a fair compensation package.”