A 78-year-old Navy veteran from Queens led the International Longshoremen’s Association union members in the organization’s first strike in almost 50 years from Tuesday to Thursday this week. Harold Daggett,

The ILA PAC typically supports Democratic candidates, though it has recently contributed less than in previous decades.

A week ago, few outside the labor movement or shipping industry knew Harold Daggett, the tough-talking, colorful head of the union now on strike at ports along the East and Gulf Coasts.