As the East and Gulf Coast port strike entered its third day, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) announced that its leader has received death threats. Concurrently, hundreds of trade groups urged President Joe Biden to intervene in the ongoing work stoppage at the docks. The strike, the first in nearly 50 years involving 45,000 ILA members, has halted container handling at 14 ports stretching from Texas to New England. Following President Biden's support for the union on Tuesday, ILA President and chief negotiator Harold Daggett stated that his members would not accept less than a $5 per hour wage increase. Shipping lines and marine terminal operators had initially proposed a $3 increase or a 50% raise on the most recent contract, but subsequently declared they would not negotiate under such a precondition. No further bargaining sessions were scheduled. Amid reports of panic-buying and the widespread damage caused by Hurricane Helene, Daggett and other union officials have reportedly received death threats and harassment, according to a statement published on the ILA website. The statement detailed that 'In telephone calls made to the staff of the International Longshoremen’s Association, and to countless ILA Locals up and down the coast, President Daggett and other ILA top officers have received vicious death threats and other forms of intimidation.' In Washington, a coalition of trade groups on Wednesday called on President Biden to reopen the ports and appoint a federal mediator to facilitate negotiations for a new longshore contract. The National Retail Federation, along with 272 other trade organizations, made this appeal.