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[bacasper]

Here's a letter from a longtime Longshoreman:

April 17, 2008

One Longshoreman' s Opinion

Around contract time, it often gets hot between unions and employers. I've been in the trade union movement 50 years. (I joined the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union when I was 14 years old.) I have never heard an employer use such bogus arguments to deny workers their right to a union meeting particularly at contract time. Longshore workers, by democratic vote, have decided to stop work on May Day to stop the war, a war that most people in this country oppose. It's the war that's illegal, not our decision to stop work. PMA legal threats will only anger longshore workers, especially now during negotiations, a time when Local 10 has usually led the locals on the Coast in job actions showing our union's strength to bolster the Negotiating Committee. Our action was decided by a democratic debate at the Longshore Caucus and that's the highest body in the ILWU Longshore Division when it's in session. PMA can't change that decision.

The ILWU International requested to change the date of our stop work meetings in April 1999 and PMA agreed. The purpose for the meeting change was to lead a demonstration of 20,000 people in San Francisco to help save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal, an innocent black journalist on death row in Pennsylvania. PMA didn't have a problem then and shouldn't have a problem now. We also had negotiations going on then and there was a helluva lot more shipping going on then. It's clear PMA is trying to test the will of the ILWU membership Our antiwar action has the backing of many trade unions as well as the San Francisco Labor Council, the International Dockworkers Council and the International Transport Workers Federation, representing longshore unions in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Labor action can stop the war. Pressuring the Democrats will not. They've proved it already. They got a majority in both houses of Congress in '06 because voters thought they would put an end to the war. And what happened? They keep voting billions for the war budget over and over, Clinton, Obama, McCain -- all of them. The International has endorsed Barack Obama, but he, like the others, says he can't withdraw "combat brigades" from Iraq until some time in 2010, and he, like the others, says he will keep some troops in Iraq indefinitely He wants to increase the U.S. forces in Afghanistan and attack Iran and Pakistan! I'm not voting for any Democrat or Republican. As I've said before, the labor movement needs its own party, a workers party. In any case, the Caucus resolution that passed is clear as can be. It says this is "a bipartisan and unjustifiable war in Iraq and Afghanistan but the two major political parties, Democrats and Republicans continue to fund the war." And that's truth.

The Caucus resolution doesn't get into the whole "support the troops" or "safe withdrawal" thing because it is a trap. The Democrats and Republicans in Congress, even the ones who say they're against the war, say they vote for the Pentagon budget to show that they "support the troops." All that does is keep the war going. For an occupying army to withdraw only when it's "safe" means never because it's always violent and chaotic when a foreign military invades and oppresses people of another country. A lot of sisters and brothers in the ILWU, like myself, have friends and relatives in the armed forces, some of them in Iraq. Many of them got dragged into the military in what is being called the "economic draft" -- basically because they didn't see any other way to get a skill or get a college education paid for. So instead they kill and get killed. And flag-waving doesn't do them any favors--it ends up with the flag draped over coffins.

Again, our resolution says clearly, we "demand an immediate end to the war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East." And it's not just us. We're not in this alone. We're getting messages of support from around the world. To stop this war is going to take international action by the working class, not by phony appeals to patriotism. We're hoping that our action can get British workers and Japanese workers and Italian and French workers to stop work as well. Then we'll see some results.

No work should be done in any port on the Coast Thursday May 1st, nothing moves. If any port works, it undercuts the whole purpose of our action and shows a divided ILWU to PMA. We had a democratic vote to stop work and mobilize for a "No Peace No Work Holiday," remember? No work means no work, period.

We're doing something here that takes courage, something people all over the world are watching, something our kids and grandkids will be proud of us for. We're adding a new page to the ILWU history book, "The ILWU Story, Six Decades of Militant Unionism". Because when we stand up and say "no", we put our money where our mouth is. We're stopping work even though it's costing every one of us because we want to make a point. It shows we mean business and we don't want PMA to tell us what we can and can't do.

We're stopping work to stop the war. And if we shut the waterfront down tight as a drum, so that nothing moves on the docks to send the message that this war has got to end or we're pulling the plug -- then the politicians, generals and bankers in Washington on Wall Street are going to take notice. You know it and I know it and they know it -- we all know it. So let's get serious about this: no work means no work. If PMA sees that they can divide us, it will just encourage them to take a harder line in the contract bargaining. If they see that we're standing solid on May Day, it will tell them what's coming their way if they try to hardtime us in the negotiations.

Already you have the big business press reporting that shippers want to "streamline operations" by eliminating jobs, that they would like to "dispatch work assignments over the Internet rather than at union hiring halls," and that they "have shown an interest in moving work away from the docks, which the ILWU dominates." But, the article says, "workers in Vancouver, Canada's independent ILWU affiliate this February stopped work during two shifts as a show of strength during negotiations. " And while "The significance of the May Day antiwar stoppage is small when compared to the threat of a longer shutdown," it adds, "this spring's wrangling, which pits union jobs against shippers' profits, might portend the sort of confrontation" that has economists up nights worrying (Miller-McCune, April 9). That's what the bosses' press is saying. So let's give them something to worry about.

Jack Heyman #8780

[Kuros]

[bacasper]

[Ya-ta Boy]

A strike will affect the company and it's income; it won't affect the government and it's policies. A resolution against the war would be a better idea. So would an anti-war demonstration scheduled during non-working hours and held at a government office.

[wannago]

[blaseblasphemener]

[Ya-ta Boy]

The romance of free enterprise is more important than the reality of history. Let wannago cling to his dreams.

[wannago]

[bacasper]

Antiwar Labor: West Coast Ports Shut on May Day

From protest to resistance
West Coast ports shut on May Day
By Clarence Thomas
Published May 5, 2008 9:19 PM

The writer is a Local 10, ILWU Executive Board member; Co-chair, Port Workers' May Day Organizing Committee and National Co-chair, Million Worker March Movement.

The International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU), known for its militant and democratic traditions as well as its economic and social justice activism, has written a new chapter in its glorious labor history by shutting down all 29 ports on the West Coast for eight hours on May Day.

This historic and courageous action on the part of the ILWU came about as the result of a "No Peace No Work Holiday" resolution adopted by the Longshore Division Caucus, its highest ruling body, in February. The caucus passed this resolution by an overwhelming majority of the 100 longshore delegates representing all locals on the West Coast.

This resolution demanded "an immediate end to the war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East." It also asked the AFL-CIO and Change to Win for "an urgent appeal for unity and action" to end the war. The resolution further included a request for a May 1 coastwide stop-work union meeting to accommodate the closure of the ports. Contractually, the ILWU is entitled to one stop-work meeting a month to address union business.

The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents shippers, stevedoring companies and terminal operators, and negotiates labor contracts on their behalf, denied the request for a coastwide union meeting for May 1. Such requests have been honored in the past with advance notice. (PMA received nearly three months advanced notice and still denied the request.)

The rank and file proceeded with plans for a stop-work shutdown even though the International leadership withdrew its request to the PMA for the May 1 coastwide meeting.

PMA then insisted that the union leadership notify its members of the withdrawal of the request for May Day. The PMA even went to an arbitrator to force the union leaders to do this. The arbitrator ruled that the union is obligated to notify members that the union's request had been withdrawn.

None of this pressure weakened the resolve of the rank and file, who organized marches, rallies and other demonstrations in San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest. Union locals continued to prepare for the May Day action.

In San Francisco, Local 10 members organized the Port Workers' May Day Organizing Committee, made up of union members, immigrant rights, and anti-war and social justice groups. In the Pacific Northwest, May Day organizing groups were headed up by rank and filers: Gabriel Prawl of Local 19 Executive Board in Seattle; and in Portland Local 8 members Jerry Lawrence, member of the Executive Board, and Debbie Stringfellow. Anti-war solidarity from West Coast to Iraq

There were numerous solidarity statements not just from trade unionists but a wide array of individuals and organizations from around the world in support of ILWU's unprecedented planned action. The first was called by the National Association of Letter Carriers locals observing two minutes of silence in all carrier stations at 8:15 a.m. on May 1 in solidarity with the ILWU action. Independent port truckers on the West Coast were very active in taking on solidarity actions in support of the ILWU. In the ports of Newark and Elizabeth, N.J., as well as the port of Houston, independent truckers protested against higher gas prices and in support of the ILWU May Day action. In Seattle, students at the University of Seattle, University of Washington, and Seattle Central Community College left their respective campuses to hold their own rallies or join the march and rally of ILWU Local 19.

The ILWU action resonated so much in the community that one of the oldest movie theater venues in Oakland, Calif., the Grand Lake, had the following on its marquee for a week leading up to May Day, "WE SALUTE THE LONGSHOREMEN' S MAY DAY STRIKE TO PROTEST THE CRIMINAL OCCUPATION OF IRAQ." Due to its location near the central city thoroughfare, thousands of people could see the marquee on any given day.

The most significant solidarity action of all came from Longshoremen in Iraq itself. Members of the Port Workers Union of Iraq shut down the Ports of Umn Qasr and Khor Alzubair for one hour on May Day in solidarity with the shutdown of all West Coast ports by members of the ILWU in opposition to the occupation of Iraq. This action was taken in defiance of the Ba'athist legislation of 1987, which banned trade unions in the public sector and public enterprise.

More at link

[traveler81]

Speaking of Labour Unions:

When I was back in the States, I worked for a company involved in setting up major shows in large venues. Often enough, those venues were controlled by union labour. One show in particular was at the San Diego Convention Center. We were required to use half our number in union guys helping us. I can only say one thing about those guys--and this is a general truth for all unions--they were lazy.

Unions seem to be the guarantee that you get your 5 min break every 15 min and several hour-long lunches over the course of an 8 hr day. I talked to one guy who took up smoking so he could get the extra smoke break as well.

To clarify, the company I worked for was based on true free-enterprise. I was a salaried employee, so the incentive for me and others was to finish a show as quickly as possible. Less hours working means more $/hr.

While we were working and the union guys were on one of their several breaks, the Union Rep came up to my co-worker and I. Here's the jist of the conversation [with translations in brackets]:

Union Rep: Hey, you guys sure you don't want to take a break? [hint hint we are and you're taking our work]

Me: No thanks. We're fine. [I want to leave sooner rather than later.]

UR: Okay, that's fine. [I'll get you later on some infraction.] Ever thought of working Union? [Join the dark side.]

Me: No, I'm not that lazy. [I'm not that lazy.]

UR: That's cool. Just remember that when your older and have a family that needs insurance a union might be right up your alley. [Sooner or later we'll get you ... one way or another.]

Me: Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. [Note to self: Flee overseas.]

Anyways, by the end of the day when we could have really used some extra help from Union guys there were none to be found. Frustrating to say the least.

I think that the unions had a beneficial impact on the way business was done ... in the past. Nowadays, it just seems that many of them are holding on to their great deals they got when they were really powerful. When I was in college, several grocery store unions went on strike for nearly a year. It screwed by the unions and the stores because neither was able to prepare for the growing influence of Walmart Supercenters--with grocery stores inside.

Just my thoughts.

[bacasper]

But could non-union workers pull off an action like shutting down all West Coast shipping for a day?

[wannago]