The day the strike launched, CNN reported that “few if any relief supplies would be arriving in the hurricane-battered Southeast via ship.” This is because moving aid by boat isn’t an effective transportation method for emergency response, which will instead distribute supplies via inland road and rail networks that can get to the affected area much faster, and the docks impacted by the strike are mainly serviced by ships bringing goods from other countries, not American cargo. 

Fox, however, ignored this information to attack the Biden-Harris administration for its response to the strike, weaponizing a natural disaster and maligning the workers themselves. In particular, network critics claimed Biden’s refusal to intervene in the strike by invoking the Taft-Hartley Act was proof that he cannot lead during a crisis. In actuality, Republican governors in the states most-affected by the historic storm praised the administration’s disaster response, and invoking Taft-Hartley would undermine the striking workers, requiring them to work while negotiating a contract; something that has no clear benefit to survivors of Hurricane Helene, but would benefit the shipping companies. 

On October 3, the ILA announced a tentative deal to suspend the strike without needing federal intervention, showing the contract negotiations are close to a final deal that includes increased wages. The dockworkers resumed work immediately and experts say it's unlikely a three-day strike will impact the supply chain much at all. Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency maintains a dedicated website to dispel other rumors swirling around ongoing disaster relief efforts.

• In a September 30 article warning “Dockworkers strike could devastate US supply chain in Hurricane Helene aftermath,” Fox Business fearmongered that the ILA strike could lead to “potentially higher prices for hurricane victims needing to rebuild their homes or rebuy essential goods or even vehicles.” The article also quoted American Trucking Association president and CEO Chris Spear, who said, “These people need help. And now we're going to shut down 36 ports,” adding, “This is not the time for a strike.” [Fox Business, 9/30/24]
• In a segment criticizing the Biden administration’s response to Helene, Fox host Sean Hannity claimed the “devastating strike” will “cripple all logistics in the entire country and every single supply chain in America at a time when so many on the East Coast in particular are trying to rebuild and recover from the devastation of this hurricane.” [Fox News, Hannity, 9/30/24]
• Attacking Biden for not invoking Taft-Hartley, Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo said, “Helene really started things off there and this is the worst possible time for a strike on the Carolinas, that's for sure.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 10/1/24]
• Fox Business correspondent Lauren Simonetti suggested the strike is holding up aid for recovery efforts. Simonetti said, “I'm thinking about Hurricane Helene, two swing states. They need medical supplies. How do we know we have enough and some of those supplies aren't on those ships stuck at sea?” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/1/24]
• In an October 1 segment criticizing the administration’s hurricane response, Fox anchor Harris Faulkner stated, “If you think it was going to be hard to get a supply into that area en masse before the strike, let a week go by.” Fox political analyst Gianno Caldwell claimed Harris’ leadership amid the disaster is “gaslighting” the public to believe “that she’s doing something when it appears she’s not doing much of anything that’s helping them.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 10/1/24]
• Invoking Hurricane Helene, Faulkner later claimed it is a “dereliction of duty” for the Biden-Harris administration not to interrupt the strike because “we need all hands on deck to get stuff to where it needs to go now.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 10/1/24]
• The following day, Faulkner falsely claimed “that strike is affecting the ability to help people who need it.” Speaking from the Fox studio, Faulkner later criticized dockworkers directly, adding, “Those are not people helping, those are people who are picketing in the middle of this disaster. So all respect for the right for them to do that, but can somebody maybe pick up water and help out? I'm just asking.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 10/2/24]
• On October 3, Faulkner again attacked Biden for not enacting the Taft-Hartley Act saying, “We have pressure from Hurricane Helene. They need stuff at the ports.” Faulkner said, “Look no further … than the port strike and the amazing power of the White House with that Taft-Hartley Act [of] 1947, could have been put in place two months ago, given us 80 days of a cooling-off period. And the president and vice president could have demonstrated their negotiating skills during that cooling-off time. But that is not what we get.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 10/3/24]