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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2008)
Longshore Union shuts ports on May Day to protest war On May Day 2008, thousands of longshore workers shut down 29 West Coast ports to protest the war in Iraq. The action may have been the first ever walk-out by a U.S. union to oppose a war. The current Iraq war has lasted five years, and over 4,000 U.S. soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed and countless wounded and maimed. The estimated 6,000 longshore workers who were scheduled for work on May 1 lost a day’s wages and risked employer retaliation for their action. The employer group, Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), said the action vi- olated its labor agreement with the In- ternational Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). PMA warned that workers could face discipline, but ILWU members were undeterred. “Longshore workers are standing- down on the job and standing up for America,” said ILWU President Bob McEllrath in a May 1 statement to the press. “We’re supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it’s time to end the war in Iraq.” About 10,000 containers are loaded and unloaded coastwise during an eight-hour day, PMA said. The decision to shut down the ports was first made Feb. 8 at an emotional meeting of the ILWU’s Longshore Caucus. Vietnam War veterans in the ILWU members and others gather on Portland’s Eastbank Esplanade May 1 to throw flowers in the Willamette River in memory of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. ILWU members stopped work for the day, shutting down ports along the West Coast of the United States. caucus, some with relatives in uniform, led a discussion about protesting the war. Delegates voted 97 to 3 to approve a resolution calling for an eight-hour “stop-work” meeting during the day shift May 1, to protest the war and call for the immediate, safe return of U.S. troops from Iraq. ILWU asked PMA’s permission for the “stop-work” meeting, but PMA re- fused. ILWU officials said they weren’t officially sponsoring any May 1 activ- ity, but said members might take action of their own accord. Twice in the days before the action, PMA went before the West Coast port arbitrator, who ordered the union to no- tify members they were required to show up to work May 1. PMA also sought an injunction from a federal judge, but the judge declined, on First Amendment grounds. In the end, union leaders said, it came down to members’ free speech rights to a voluntary protest action. “Big foreign corporations that con- trol global shipping aren’t loyal or ac- countable to any country,” McEllrath said. “For them it’s all about making money. But longshore workers are dif- ferent. We’re loyal to America, and we won’t stand by while our country, our troops, and our economy are destroyed by a war that’s bankrupting us to the tune of $3 trillion.” McEllrath’s figure comes from a book published in March by Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard economist Linda J. Bilmes that estimates the true cost to American taxpayers of the war in Iraq will exceed $3 trillion. May Day is celebrated around the world as International Workers’ Day, dating from a general strike for the eight-hour day in 1886, when police at- tacked union demonstrators in Chicago. Two years ago, large numbers of marchers linked May Day to immi- grants’ rights. This year, the ILWU ac- tion tied May Day to stopping the war. Bruce Holte, secretary-treasurer of Portland-headquartered ILWU Local 8, said 1,300 to 1,500 members of ILWU locals from Portland, Longview and Astoria stopped work for the day. At noon, a group of longshore workers met with members of the group Veter- ans for Peace on a floating dock on the east side of the Willamette River, just north of the Burnside Bridge in Port- land. They held a brief rally, after which they placed flowers in the river to honor U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. In Seattle, ILWU was joined by sev- eral hundred demonstrators for a wa- terfront protest march that had the en- dorsement of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and a dozen other unions. In San Francisco, ILWU members were reportedly among nearly 1,000 protesters marching on the waterfront. The ILWU action got worldwide press attention, and hundreds of peo- ple called and e-mailed to thank the union. The current six-year contract be- tween PMA and ILWU expires July 1 and the two sides have been negotiat- ing since March 17. More than a dozen longshore workers have been killed on the job in the last six years, and the ILWU is seeking safety improvements in the contract. The union is also ask- ing that ships burn cleaner fuel when in port, to cut down on pollution and respiratory complaints by workers. Six years ago, PMA locked out workers for 10 days and President Bush threatened to bring in troops to do their jobs. He later invoked the Taft- Hartley Act to end the lockout and or- dered ILWU members back to work. Karl Bik, Co-Chairman Cement Masons Trust Funds for Northern California The bank of labor has on-the-job experience in Taft-Hartley trust fund management supports you with an expert labor team and one easy point of contact offers investment solutions to build and protect your hard-earned funds gives workers the benefit of customized health and retirement plans has worked on behalf of unions for more than 50 years. Invest in you ® Labor Management Trust Services Stephen Heady, Vice President, (503) 450-1270 Louis Nagy, Vice President, (503) 450-1273 Labor Management Deposit Services Diane Williams, Senior Vice President & Manager, (213) 236-5085 John Mendoza, Vice President & Relationship Manager, (415) 705-7112 Visit us at unionbank.com PAGE 12 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS ©2007 Union Bank of California, N.A. Member FDIC MAY 16, 2008
