ILWU Longshoremen storm the port of Longview, WA

[praxis1966]

All I can say is fucking wow. :thumbup1:




LONGVIEW, Wash. — Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha.

Six guards were held hostage for a couple of hours after 500 or more Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. and smashed windows in the guard shack, he said.

No one was hurt, and nobody has been arrested. Most of the protesters returned to their union hall after cutting brake lines and spilling grain from car at the EGT terminal, Duscha said.


Full Text: http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/longshoremen-storm-wash-port-1163232.html

[Welshy]

That link is dead, but here is the same the article:

http://hosted2.ap.org/OHCOL/8ef5320729ce4298abefc1903704c7d5/Article_2011-09-08-Washington-Union%20Clash/id-3960d71390054230b1db06d198b0096f

[praxis1966]

That link is dead, but here is the same the article:

http://hosted2.ap.org/OHCOL/8ef5320729ce4298abefc1903704c7d5/Article_2011-09-08-Washington-Union%20Clash/id-3960d71390054230b1db06d198b0096f

Weird. It's still working for me. Anyway, I don't wanna get overly excited, but all I can say is that this hasn't happened for as long as I can remember here in the States...

[Welshy]

Weird. It's still working for me. Anyway, I don't wanna get overly excited, but all I can say is that this hasn't happened for as long as I can remember here in the States...

Now it's working for me. But anyways this is pretty exciting. I think this is the first time I've seen an action like this happening here, but then again I'm 19.


"We're not surprised," Duscha said. "A lot of the protesters were telling us this in only the start."Does anyone know if there are plans for more actions like this? Also I've been curious about this for a while, how active is the left in the ILWU?

[praxis1966]

Now it's working for me. But anyways this is pretty exciting. I think this is the first time I've seen an action like this happening here, but then again I'm 19.

I don't claim to know everything there is to know about labor history, but I will say I don't think anything this radical has happened in a long time...


Does anyone know if there are plans for more actions like this? Also I've been curious about this for a while, how active is the left in the ILWU?

The first question I really couldn't answer simply because I don't know and even if I did it's not something one could go bragging about on the internet, lol. The second one however...

I'm not sure about the "left" per se, but I do know that the ILWU has a fair track record of being relatively radical. Of course, it depends on the local. I've heard that the one at the Port of Oakland is far more "left" than their counterparts across the Bay in San Francisco for instance. That being said, I don't think it's unworthy of mention that the ILWU local in Oakland was instrumental, for instance, in raising consciousness around certain issues in the past. Back in the 80s, they were among the first to refuse to unload cargo from apartheid South Africa. If you check the ILWU's website today, you'll find links to their "sister" unions in ports around the world as well. I think because of the nature of the work, that particular union has a uniquely internationalist view... However, like I said, a lot of it depends on the particular local you're talking about.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Meanwhile, the international union is investigating reports of a wildcat strike at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

:thumbup1:

[Sasha]

some more:


Work is at a standstill at the ports in Seattle and Everett as a labor dispute that started Thursday morning turned violent.
At least 500 longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview about 4:30 a.m., broke out windows in the guard shack and — as longshoremen wielding baseball bats and crowbars held six guards hostage — others cut brakelines on box cars and dumped grain, according to Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha.


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/09/08/2016144604.jpg



http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016144477_longshoremen09m.html

[Salyut]

So how long before the screaming about ZOMG UNION THUGGERY becomes audible?

[Commissar Rykov]

This is pretty badass. Reminds me of the early Union actions when America was industrializing especially the assaults on Steel Mills. Hopefully this kind of militancy will continue to gain momentum.

[Martin Blank]

Right on, brothers and sisters! Right on!

It's nice to know that at least one business union in the U.S. still knows how to kick ass and take names.

[Broletariat]

My question then becomes, how can we show support for this in a tangible way, how can we foment further actions such as this. Something is obviously happening here, how can we turn this into something even more directed and political, or influence it to become so?

Can anyone good at making pamphletes whip something up?

[black magick hustla]

Right on, brothers and sisters! Right on!

It's nice to know that at least one business union in the U.S. still knows how to kick ass and take names.

it wasn't even the "union", a lot of the heating up had to do with wildcat strikes. longshoremen have a history of being hella militant, fuck the unions, long live proletarian autonomy

[Ele'ill]

I got texted this earlier today- Everyone notice the language usage thus far? "Protesters".


Also, those looking for help with solidarity banners/actions in the Portland area send me a PM. Now is the time for west coast solidarity. I'm assuming this situation could use noise.

[Martin Blank]

One for the Sparts:...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/09/08/2016144621.jpg

Labor's Gotta Play Hardball to Win!

[Sasha]

Washington State Labor Council Backs Longview's Longshoremen (If Not Their Methods) (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/09/08/washington-state-labor-council-backs-longviews-longshoremen-if-not-their-methods)

Posted by Eli Sanders (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/eli-sanders/Author?oid=12168) on Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 2:09 PM

Earlier today I asked Kathy Cummings, spokesperson for the Washington State Labor Council, what she makes of today's labor violence in Longview (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/09/08/labor-violence-in-longview-shuts-down-seattle-and-everett-ports).
“We certainly don’t condone violence," Cummings told me. "But we certainly understand their positions.”
She summed up the situation—explained in more detail here (http://www.thestand.org/2011/09/heres-why-longshore-workers-are-so-angry/)—as one in which Longshoremen have been treated shabbily for quite some time by EGT, a multinational company operating a new grain terminal in Longview. Things reached a breaking point recently, she said, when the company decided to bring in cheaper, out-of-state union labor.
“We cannot condone the violence," Cummings repeated. "But we do understand their situation.”

[Ele'ill]

That photo is amazing. My palms are sweating.

[Martin Blank]

it wasn't even the "union", a lot of the heating up had to do with wildcat strikes. longshoremen have a history of being hella militant, fuck the unions, long live proletarian autonomy

It was yesterday's police violence (pepper-spraying) against an ILWU protest and the arrest of 17 longshoremen, including the ILWU's President, that brought on this action. The action had union sanction and was done in open defiance of a federal injunction and restraining order. The train that was sabotaged during the action was the one the longshoremen were blockading yesterday, which was also in defiance of the injunction.

So you can scream "fuck the unions" and prattle about "proletarian autonomy" from your college campus all you want. I'll stand alongside the ILWU on this one.

[black magick hustla]

from your college campus all you want

i love u too

[Martin Blank]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/09/08/2016144630.jpg

Shades of Tiananmen Square.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

This doesn't surprise me at all.

The ILWU has traditionally been one of the most militant unions in the United States (carrying on strikes, slowdowns, blockades and hot cargoing throughout its existence -- they have shut down ports for May Day, refused to unload South African ships during apartheid, etc.), especially in comparison with the much more conservative ILA. I think that has to do with the relative power these workers have on the one hand, and the long leadership of former IWW and Communist Party member Harry Bridges (from the Albion Hall Group through the Big Strike to the split with the ILA, from the anti-communist purge from the CIO to his retirement in 77). Note that I am not praising Harry Bridges in the least... simply pointing out that he brought a lot of the old time strategies and tactics along with him while the others who may have done the same were removed from the unions.

[Martin Blank]

Why this action happened:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/09/08/2016144613.jpg

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

it wasn't even the "union", a lot of the heating up had to do with wildcat strikes. longshoremen have a history of being hella militant, fuck the unions, long live proletarian autonomy

This is an example of where I think the black-and-white "Left Communist" analysis of unions falls flat. The longshoreman on the East Coast, who stayed in the mob-ridden ILA when the ILWU split, have not historically been militant, not only in comparison with the ILWU, but in general.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Why this action happened:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/09/08/2016144613.jpg

Can you post that image in the 6 threads that are bound to pop up in the next 30 days asking "Are cops proletarians?"

[ВАЛТЕР]

Solidarity!

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Reminds me of the early Union actions when America was industrializing especially the assaults on Steel Mills.Reminds me of family members' stories from coal strikes in the 70's and 80's involving train derailments, shootings, dynamitings, fist fights, pitched battles, trucks tipping over and more. There's a reason UMWA shirts are camouflage.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/jan2006/fune-j26.jpg

(McCoy was a UMWA member shot while picketing.)

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Here's the best part of the whole story to me:

In Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and Anacortes, hundreds of Longshore workers failed to show up or walked off the job Thursday in apparent solidarity with the Longview activists, halting work at those ports. Union leaders said they had not called for any such actions.

"It appears the members have taken action on their own," said ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees from union headquarters in San Francisco.

[Martin Blank]

I should also note here that virtually none of the actions that ILWU members take are "wildcats". There is a very strict provision in the union's rules about that. Nearly all of the actions taken by the ILWU are decisions adopted at meetings. Those that aren't are given tacit sanction ("Whatever you decide is fine") by the leadership. One of our members was a part of the ILWU blockade of the Nedlloyd Kimberly and other South African ships, and knows well how the union leaderships have been willing historically to support militant workers' actions.

ON EDIT: The above post and quote from Merrilees is that tacit sanction I mentioned.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Or, perhaps:

"One sergeant was threatened with baseball bats and retreated"

[praxis1966]

I should also note here that virtually none of the actions that ILWU members take are "wildcats". There is a very strict provision in the union's rules about that. Nearly all of the actions taken by the ILWU are decisions adopted at meetings. Those that aren't are given tacit sanction ("Whatever you decide is fine") by the leadership. One of our members was a part of the ILWU blockade of the Nedlloyd Kimberly and other South African ships, and knows well how the union leaderships have been willing historically to support militant workers' actions.

Fair points. And the workers at the Port of Oakland were pretty cooperative recently with other groups' blockade of the Israeli Zim Line as part of a solidarity action.

[Le Socialiste]

Why this action happened:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/09/08/2016144613.jpg

Fucking pigs...

Seriously impressed by this. You don't really hear about or see this type of stuff from American workers nowadays.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

One of our members was a part of the ILWU blockade of the Nedlloyd Kimberly and other South African ships, and knows well how the union leaderships have been willing historically to support militant workers' actions.

Didn't the international president refuse to officially back that boycott so as not to run afoul of the bosses?

[syndicat]

but you know about the recent lawsuit of the PMA against ILWU local 10 in the bay area? this for a stop work action in solidarity with the capital occupation in Madison. apparently the exec board signed some agreement not to do this sort of thing. one of the exec board members was quoted as saying that striking in solidarity was "fighting the old way" whereas "the new way of fighting" is demonstrations and protests...that is, merely symbolic protests that have no power.

[Martin Blank]

Didn't the international president refuse to officially back that boycott so as not to run afoul of the bosses?

Formally, yes. But he also did nothing to stop the IWLU locals from passing resolutions to enforce the boycott. There's a lot of "looking the other way" in the ILWU, it seems.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Formally, yes. But he also did nothing to stop the IWLU locals from passing resolutions to enforce the boycott. There's a lot of "looking the other way" in the ILWU, it seems.

I think that's more because they don't have a choice than anything else. The rank-and-file of the ILWU is so militant that they will simply outflank the international and go outside of the union if need be.

Some of the UMWA tops used to act in a similar way during all the wildcats and big strikes of the 70's and 80's, while simultaneously signing bullshit agreements with the bosses and trying to push through crap contracts.

[praxis1966]

but you know about the recent lawsuit of the PMA against ILWU local 10 in the bay area? this for a stop work action in solidarity with the capital occupation in Madison. apparently the exec board signed some agreement not to do this sort of thing. one of the exec board members was quoted as saying that striking in solidarity was "fighting the old way" whereas "the new way of fighting" is demonstrations and protests...that is, merely symbolic protests that have no power.

I hadn't heard that quote but I had heard of the lawsuit. There hasn't yet been a resolution to it has there?

[Martin Blank]

but you know about the recent lawsuit of the PMA against ILWU local 10 in the bay area? this for a stop work action in solidarity with the capital occupation in Madison. apparently the exec board signed some agreement not to do this sort of thing. one of the exec board members was quoted as saying that striking in solidarity was "fighting the old way" whereas "the new way of fighting" is demonstrations and protests...that is, merely symbolic protests that have no power.

You're confusing form and content. What is the difference between shutting down port traffic with pickets and shutting down port traffic with pickets, other than that the former is called a "strike" and the latter is called a "protest"?

Sounds to me like Local 10 found a clever way to get around a no-strike clause. Just call it a "day of protest" instead of a one-day strike. Viola!

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

lawsuit

“In 1934 we papered the wall with injunctions. The employer can always find some anti-union judge to sign a piece of paper. But strikes come down to a relationship of forces. If our forces are bigger and more powerful than theirs, we will win.”- Harr DeBoer

“The judge can drop dead in his black robes and we would not call off the strike!” - Mike Quinn

[black magick hustla]

I think that's more because they don't have a choice than anything else. The rank-and-file of the ILWU is so militant that they will simply outflank the international and go outside of the union if need be.
.

that was my whole point though, militant unions are militant because the rank and file is militant. Some people make it seem unions are the cause of the militancy. perhaps it has something to do with past leadership or whatever but doesn't dispell the fact that a lot of these strikes and stuff are qualitatively the same to wildcat strikes, rather than the token two day official strikes or whatever called by most american trad unions.

[praxis1966]

Something tells me Local 10 might be walking off the job soon... Just to give a bit of background on those guys, I found this while looking for some background on the suit. I'd actually forgotten about the walkout in support of the Oscar Grant rallies until this bit reminded me:




ILWU and its rank-and-file have a long history of demonstrating solidarity for other workers and oppressed people. In 1978, ILWU dock workers refused to load bombs headed for Chile, which was then ruled by a military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet, who had crushed unions and maintained power through torture and terror. In 1984, they called a 24-hour strike to protest the racist apartheid government of South Africa. In 2000, they called another 24-hour strike to support dock workers in Charleston, South Carolina, who while legally picketing were attacked by police and charged with felonies.

Most recently, they conducted work actions to demand an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an end to the bombing of Palestinians in Gaza, and to support Oscar Grant, an innocent young African-American killed by an Oakland transit police officer.


Full Text: http://leftlaborreporter.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/unions-rally-to-support-bay-area-dock-workers/

[syndicat]

You're confusing form and content. What is the difference between shutting down port traffic with pickets and shutting down port traffic with pickets, other than that the former is called a "strike" and the latter is called a "protest"?

Sounds to me like Local 10 found a clever way to get around a no-strike clause. Just call it a "day of protest" instead of a one-day strike. Viola!you apparently can't read. the agreement AFAIK was that they wouldn't strike. there are plenty of protests and demonstrations that don't involve a work stoppage. in fact that is the dominant form of protest these days.

now if you know some actual facts about the case...

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Sounds to me like Local 10 found a clever way to get around a no-strike clause. Just call it a "day of protest" instead of a one-day strike. Viola!I think they have a history of doing that, don't they? I could be wrong, but I remember reading that they used sick outs for one of their port shut downs. I know they used to use slowdowns a lot.

The UMWA had a similar policy. They used to temporarily shut down the mines unofficially through various means like "safety checks."

[Martin Blank]

that was my whole point though, militant unions are militant because the rank and file is militant. perhaps it has something to do with past leadership or whatever but doesn't dispel the fact that a lot of these strikes and stuff are qualitatively the same to wildcat strikes, rather than the token two day official strikes or whatever called by most American trade unions.

One big part of the reason why the ILWU membership is militant is because the ILWU leaders and veteran members encourage the new ones to study the union's history, and that of the labor movement as a whole in the raw.

While it's true that a lot of these strikes appear to have most (if not all) of the characteristics of a wildcat, we need to be honest and point out that they are not wildcats, but actual union-supported actions (if only backhandedly), while at the same time highlighting the fact that the ILWU's actions are fundamentally different from those of the other business unions (which are increasingly becoming scab company unions).

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

that was my whole point though, militant unions are militant because the rank and file is militant. perhaps it has something to do with past leadership or whatever but doesn't dispell the fact that a lot of these strikes and stuff are qualitatively the same to wildcat strikes, rather than the token two day official strikes or whatever called by most american trad unions.I think the ILWU still has some "old style" union leaders though, since they avoided the anti-communist purge and were able to pass on the tradition. That's why they're more willing to unleash more militant tactics then their counterparts in other unions like the ILA or the SEIU.

Before the purge, union bureaucrats often unleashed the power of the rank-and-file for militant actions. Afterward, not so much. It's more of a question of strategy and tactics than anything. A union bureaucrat is still a union bureaucrat, whether he calls for leafleting at a shopping mall or derailing a train.

Look at the differences between the activities of the ILWU and the ILA. Or the UE and the IBEW. It's like night and day.

[praxis1966]

There've been other tactics besides the "sick-out" as well. I remember NHIA and I specifically talking about one of them when somebody (may have even been me, lol) posted the articles related to the Zim Line blockade. That was labor from the beginning... Of course, there was some help from ANSWER, but Local 10 used the "health and safety" clause of their contract in order to avoid crossing the picket line.

[Martin Blank]

you apparently can't read. the agreement AFAIK was that they wouldn't strike. there are plenty of protests and demonstrations that don't involve a work stoppage. in fact that is the dominant form of protest these days.

now if you know some actual facts about the case...

Yes, I do. The PMA-ILWU agreement said no strikes, but protests were fine as long as they were coordinated with the management. ILWU Local 10 called a "day of protest" in solidarity with the workers of Wisconsin. Nothing moved in or out of the port for 24 hours, while the ILWU put up "informational pickets" at the port gates and also participated in other related protests. Because the ILWU didn't coordinate with the bosses, the PMA accused them of striking and filed their lawsuit.

As you can see, I can read just fine. But it's obvious that's not what this is about. This is about the fact that your politics are so ossified that anyone with any view that deviates from your scheme of things by one iota is seen by you as illiterate, incompetent and/or delusional. You did this in the thread on political organization a couple months ago and you're doing it now.

A little advice: Try to be less condescending and more open to others' ideas. Listen more than speak. Believe me, it works wonders.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

In 1984, they called a 24-hour strike to protest the racist apartheid government of South Africa.

Yea, and they ended up refusing to unload a ship as mentioned. But the union tops were hardly behind it. They argued that it was a mistake or personal protest by individual members and refused to back it. When the bosses got an injunction against the action they fell in line.

[praxis1966]

Yea, and they ended up refusing to unload a ship as mentioned. But the union tops were hardly behind it. They argued that it was a mistake or personal protest by individual members and refused to back it. When the bosses got an injunction against the action they fell in line.

Right, well I wasn't trying to assert anything about how radical the leadership was, merely that the local in question had a long and storied tradition of solidarity action and whatnot. There just seemed to be some question as to the history involved which was why I posted that bit.

[#FF0000]

2zrK9LL9UyM

Apparently this preceded the storming of the beaches.

But yeah good goddamn I am surprised as fuck that this is happening today. Fair play to the Longshoremen.

[chimx]

it wasn't even the "union", a lot of the heating up had to do with wildcat strikes. longshoremen have a history of being hella militant, fuck the unions, long live proletarian autonomy

First of all, the ILWU, at least here in Seattle, has always been fairly "radical" in terms of most american unions. I remember a few years ago they were trying to reclaim mayday with a one day general strike of sorts. Unfortunately it didn't seem particularly well planned and I don't think any of the other unions in Seattle participated other than the ILWU (probably due in part to unions' contractual obligations). But that was the Seattle local, and I imagine longview guys are out of the Tacoma local.

Anyway, for those that are interested, here is a news article that is being sent out by the Washington State Labor Council to explain what's going on:


LONGVIEW (Sept. 8th) — Violence erupted today in a major labor dispute that has simmered for months at the Port of Longview, leading to work shutdowns at ports up and down the Washington coast. Why are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) — and their supporters in Washington and Oregon — so upset about a grain terminal that employs just 50 workers?

Here’s why.

EGT Development is a joint venture of Japan-based Itochu Corp, South Korea’s STX Pan Ocean and St. Louis-based Bunge North America. Like so many corporations that promise good jobs to get what they want, EGT got a special state tax exemption and a sweetheart lease deal from the Port of Longview to build a $200 million grain terminal there. The government even seized adjacent land for the project. But as soon as the deal’s ink was dry and the ceremonial first shovel of dirt was overturned two years ago, EGT began running the project on the cheap.

Despite high unemployment in Cowlitz County and the availability of hundreds of skilled union building trades workers, EGT imported the vast majority of its construction crews from low-wage communities out-of-state and did not pay area standard wages, leading to howls from the local labor community.

After the terminal was built, EGT decided to ignore the Port of Longview’s contract with ILWU Local 21 to hire union labor on its leased site. Instead, the multinational conglomerate hired non-union workers — claiming it would save the company $1 million a year (a figure the company later admitted had been plucked from the sky) — and EGT sued the Port, arguing it was not bound by the contract with the ILWU.

For months, ILWU picketed EGT and attempted to pressure the company to negotiate with the union. Those protests gradually grew in size as EGT refused to meet with the union, culminating in a major rally on June 3, when more than 1,000 ILWU supporters from Washington to California rallied outside EGT’s headquarters in downtown Portland. The protest was loud, but nonviolent.

The dispute escalated at a July 11 protest outside the EGT terminal in Longview, when members tore down a chain-link gate and stormed the EGT grain terminal. About 100 union dock workers, including union leaders, were cited and arrested.

“We are going to fight for our jobs in our jurisdiction. We have worked this dock for 70 years, and to have a big, rich corporation come in and say, ‘We don’t want you,’ is a problem,” ILWU 21 President Dan Coffman told the (Longview) Daily News. “We’re all together. We’re all going to jail as a union.”

On July 14, hundreds of union dock workers crowded onto railroad tracks to block a train from delivering grain to the EGT terminal. The Daily News reported that the 107-car train was rerouted to Vancouver following the standoff, which prompted Burlington Northern Santa Fe to indefinitely suspend train traffic to the grain terminal for safety reasons.
“By far this is the most intense labor event that I can remember,” Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson told the Daily News. But he said he understands what the union is trying to accomplish even though he didn’t agree with its tactics. “Bless their hearts. These are our neighbors, too. These are our folks. This is our community.”

EGT was feeling the heat, and community support for the local ILWU workers was growing as more people learned the facts of the dispute.

Then the company made a surprise announcement that it would hire a unionized subcontractor to run the terminal. EGT signed an agreement with Federal Way-based General Construction Co., a subsidiary of Kiewit, to operate the terminal with union members from the Portland-based International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701.
Both the Oregon AFL-CIO and the Washington State Labor Council condemned EGT’s attempt to pit union members against each other.

“EGT, a Japanese multinational corporation that has received tax breaks from our state to build this grain elevator, has thumbed its nose at the members of ILWU Local 21 and is trying to pit workers against workers, local unions against local unions. This is unacceptable,” Johnson said (pictured at left at a July 24 rally). “The work at the Port of Longview is longshore work and we need to come together as community and labor and say ‘no’ to EGT — ‘you will not disrespect labor in Longview or anywhere else in our state’.”

There have been numerous incidents provoked by EGT’s union-vs.-union arrangement. Most recently, a contractor drove right through the ILWU picket line on Aug. 29 and struck two ILWU members who, fortunately, were not seriously injured. Although the contractor was not cited or arrested for the vehicular assault, an angry ILWU picketer was arrested for allegedly damaging the next vehicle that attempted to cross the picket line, a charge based on video surveillance provided by an EGT security guard.

The next day, the National Labor Relations Board announced it was seeking a court order to end “aggressive picketing” at the EGT facility and allow Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains to deliver grain to the facility. Such an order was issued last week, according to Rich Ahearn, director of the NLRB’s Seattle office.

Which brings us to yesterday, Sept. 7.

Some 400 ILWU members stood on the railroad tracks to block a train from delivering grain to the terminal for about four hours, but the train passed through after protesters were confronted by 50 police officers in riot gear. ILWU President Robert McEllrath, who attended the protest, was detained by police, escalating tensions between protesters and officers. In the confrontation that ensued, police beat protesters away with clubs and pepper spray.

Ultimately, McEllrath returned to urge members to end the standoff.

“You can get maced and tear-gassed and clubbed (today)” or wait for longshore support from all over the West Coast when the next train tries to enter the EGT terminal, McEllrath reportedly told protesters after he met with police. “If we leave here, it doesn’t mean that we gave up and quit. It means we’re coming back.”

All but 16 of the protesters returned to the union hall; the 16 who refused were arrested for trespassing.

Early this morning, hundreds of ILWU members and their supporters reportedly stormed the EGT terminal at the Port of Longview, broke down the gates, overpowered security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain, according to Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha. Initial reports indicated no one was hurt and nobody has been arrested. After a few hours, the protesters returned to their union hall.

So that’s where we stand, as of this writing.

To sum up: a taxpayer-subsidized international conglomerate, which is operating on public property, is suing the public so it can avoid paying the area’s standard wages and undercut its competitors that do. Then, it exacerbated tensions with the local labor community by importing union workers from another jurisdiction to cross the picket lines.
That’s why ILWU members are angry, and that’s why this is about more than just 50 jobs in Longview.

Short URL: http://www.thestand.org/?p=4718

[chimx]

As far as personal anecdotes go about seattle...

Work is shitty in the Seattle/Tacoma area right now. A lot of trades are low on work and there is a lot of pissed of people around town now. Just the other day there was a picket of 50 some union carpenters at a job site next to my house who were protesting the use of scab labor and other shitty labor practices.

But then again, there were a lot of pissed off people a year ago when the WSLC had a big ass "Jobs Now" rally in downtown seattle and at least from what I can tell things have gotten worse since then. There is a huge lack of jobs right now and the ones that are around are tending to go to the non-union sector.

[syndicat]

I think the ILWU still has some "old style" union leaders though, since they avoided the anti-communist purge and were able to pass on the tradition. That's why they're more willing to unleash more militant tactics then their counterparts in other unions like the ILA or the SEIU.

the rank and file delegate conferences are a more important legacy than any radical politics at the national level. in recent years ILWU has come to be dominated by the large local in L.A./Long Beach harbor...a more conservative local historically. when Espinoza, from that local was president, he was the first national president who wasn't a socialist of some sort.

moreover they are capable of playing the same tricks as other business unions. they could have beaten back the Rio Tinto attack at the mining local in Boron with fewer givebacks if they'd been prepared to boycott movement of borate in and out of L.A. harbor, for example.

[syndicat]

As you can see, I can read just fine. But it's obvious that's not what this is about. This is about the fact that your politics are so ossified

but you won't say what those facts are. and someone who wants to revive the WIIU is no one to talk about "ossified" politics...

[o well this is ok I guess]

One for the Sparts:...



Labor's Gotta Play Hardball to Win! Why the fuck did nobody else ever think of making baseball bats into picket signs?

That's fucking genius.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Why the fuck did nobody else ever think of making baseball bats into picket signs?

That's fucking genius.
its been done before.

at greensboro communists and others had lead pipes for pickets.



also, LABOR FUCK YES.

i was just at a 12 straight hour picket* at one of the Hotels in Sac where UNITE HERE! Local 49 has been fighting for a contract for 2 years. i get home and i hear of this. i just. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.


*First ever attempt by Local 49 of something that long and it was a success. 10 or so other unions sent some of their members to join the picket in solidarity.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

moreover they are capable of playing the same tricks as other business unions.

Which is exactly what I said in the following sentences, which you left out of the quote.

[S.Artesian]

Some info from Washington:






After yesterday’s confrontation at the EGT Grain Terminal, where 19 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union were arrested, another demonstration is developing this morning, with an estimated 1,000 local union members descending on the facility, starting at about 4:40 am. Around 400 were involved in yesterday’s demonstration on the railroad tracks, starting about 3:30 pm. Protesting union members blocked the tracks and squared off against about 40 law enforcement officers equipped in tactical helmets, with some carrying bean-bag shotguns and pepper-ball guns. Three were arrested in the original confrontation, then a standoff of about an hour took place. At about 4:35 pm, the 107-car train backed up about 200 yards, to the cheers of the crowd. At that time, ILWU National President Robert McEllrath told the crowd that it was time to back off, to “live to fight another day.” McEllrath emphasizes that this fight is not against Burlington Northern/Santa Fe and their union workers, it’s against a multinational corporation that trying to take union jobs…..Most of the crowd left after McEllrath’s speech, with just a few lingering on the tracks. Around 7 pm, they started moving the train again, and 16 were arrested at that time. All are being charged with second-degree trespassing. This morning, the protestors actually entered the plant site, storming the security guards at the facility. None of those people were attacked or injured, but they report that the protestors took a Columbia Security vehicle, then drove it into a ditch. Windows were also broken out on the guard shack. Speaking with local law enforcement from a hiding place in the plant, the security guards reported that the protestors went in and cut hoses on the train that had entered the facility. After doing that damage, those involved in the confrontation quickly left, while law enforcement resources were staging nearby. Shortly after 6 am, law enforcement set up a perimeter around the plant, planning to arrest all remaining protestors on the property. At this point, it’s not known how many will be facing charges. Officers entering the property around 6:30 am reported finding that a gate had been torn down, and that hoppers had been opened on at least 100 grain cars, spilling their contents. Union officials are expected to be in Federal court in Tacoma this afternoon, as a hearing is held regarding the Temporary Restraining Order issued against the ILWU last week. At that time, Judge Ronald Leighton was extremely adamant that the union not engage in picket line violence, vandalism, or other blocking of ingress and egress to the facility. Yesterday’s demonstration and this morning’s events would appear to be major violations of those orders. Today’s hearing is scheduled for 1:30 pm in Federal court in Tacoma.

[Martin Blank]

but you won't say what those facts are.

Someone's playing with Stalin's falsification pen! Call Warehouse 13!


and someone who wants to revive the WIIU is no one to talk about "ossified" politics...

Wow. Just wow. Apparently you missed the announcement 18 months ago that we withdrew from the WIIU project, leaving it to the ex-SLPers who wanted to make peace with the SP.

[Martin Blank]

A P.S. on the whole Nedlloyd Kimberley issue. There were three separate actions over the course of seven years against that ship: there was a picket in 1977 that stopped its unloading, a port action that turned it away in 1981, and the 11-day action in 1984. Sometimes these separate actions can get confused with one another, given the stretch of time.

[Die Neue Zeit]

One big part of the reason why the ILWU membership is militant is because the ILWU leaders and veteran members encourage the new ones to study the union's history, and that of the labor movement as a whole in the raw.

While it's true that a lot of these strikes appear to have most (if not all) of the characteristics of a wildcat, we need to be honest and point out that they are not wildcats, but actual union-supported actions (if only backhandedly), while at the same time highlighting the fact that the ILWU's actions are fundamentally different from those of the other business unions (which are increasingly becoming scab company unions).

Does the IWLU organize on a union shop basis or an agency shop basis? I'm pretty sure it can't organize on a closed shop basis, and I'm thinking here that an agency shop basis allows only the most militant of prospects to join, leaving everyone else to pay agency fees.

[citizen of industry]

Courtesy of FSP. A couple youtube interviews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPSgo-h-W8w&feature=player_detailpage

<A href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcS2_fOGjOY&sns=em" target=_blank rel=nofollow>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcS2_fOGjOY&sns=em

[Martin Blank]

Does the IWLU organize on a union shop basis or an agency shop basis? I'm pretty sure it can't organize on a closed shop basis, and I'm thinking here that an agency shop basis allows only the most militant of prospects to join, leaving everyone else to pay agency fees.

Closed shops have been illegal since the passage of Taft-Hartley. The ILWU agreements are traditionally union shop with a hiring hall.

[Die Neue Zeit]

How does the union combat conservatism amongst members (other than post-admission education), then? By definition a union organizing on a "union shop" basis has to include more right-wing workers.

[Also, some functions of a hiring hall resemble those of temp agencies.]

[Os Cangaceiros]

This is so great.

I lol'd when listening to Fox News actors acting outraged about this action this morning. You clowns feature asshats like Newt Gingrich who throw the phrase "class war" around whenever discussing Obama's newest corporate aid measure, hopefully you'll be enjoying some more of the real class war in years to come.

[A Marxist Historian]

I don't claim to know everything there is to know about labor history, but I will say I don't think anything this radical has happened in a long time...



The first question I really couldn't answer simply because I don't know and even if I did it's not something one could go bragging about on the internet, lol. The second one however...

I'm not sure about the "left" per se, but I do know that the ILWU has a fair track record of being relatively radical. Of course, it depends on the local. I've heard that the one at the Port of Oakland is far more "left" than their counterparts across the Bay in San Francisco for instance. That being said, I don't think it's unworthy of mention that the ILWU local in Oakland was instrumental, for instance, in raising consciousness around certain issues in the past. Back in the 80s, they were among the first to refuse to unload cargo from apartheid South Africa. If you check the ILWU's website today, you'll find links to their "sister" unions in ports around the world as well. I think because of the nature of the work, that particular union has a uniquely internationalist view... However, like I said, a lot of it depends on the particular local you're talking about.

The ILWU is the backbone of the labor movement here in California, and has been ever since the SF General Strike in the 1930s. It's founder-leader Harry Bridges was the leading labor light for the American Communist Party.

You understate in fact some of the things they've done down the years. In 2008 they had a one-day strike vs. the Iraq War, and last year another calling for jailing Oscar Grant.

Once a month by contract they have the right to stop work for one day for a union meeting, so this was all actually quite legal, and not quite as daringly radical as it sounds. Still, it tells ya something.

In the '70s and '80s in particular, it had a whole lot of left wing influence, with both longshore Local 10 in the Bay Area, the historic heart of the union, and warehouse Local 6, the most important warehouseman's local, having Spartacist-supported Militant Caucuses with two members on the union exec board in each local (and plenty other radical officers too as well probably, but I'm less familiar, maybe others can comment. Certainly a good number of pro-CP officers, though even then they weren't too radical on union issues.)

No longer the case, due to a political split and just plain retirements (and warehouse local 6 kinda collapsing), but the leading radical light in the union who just recently retired, Jack Heyman, is another ex-Spartacist whose proclamations often have a semi-Spartacist flavor, though he is on the outs with them.

-M.H.-

[A Marxist Historian]

This is an example of where I think the black-and-white "Left Communist" analysis of unions falls flat. The longshoreman on the East Coast, who stayed in the mob-ridden ILA when the ILWU split, have not historically been militant, not only in comparison with the ILWU, but in general.

Not true. Often right wing, but often very militant on a purely trade union basis.

And not only that. The South Carolina ILA at the port of Charleston, which has a black president, is very militant and if anything to the left of most of the ILWU politically.

-M.H.-

[A Marxist Historian]

but you know about the recent lawsuit of the PMA against ILWU local 10 in the bay area? this for a stop work action in solidarity with the capital occupation in Madison. apparently the exec board signed some agreement not to do this sort of thing. one of the exec board members was quoted as saying that striking in solidarity was "fighting the old way" whereas "the new way of fighting" is demonstrations and protests...that is, merely symbolic protests that have no power.

Glad you mentioned this. Let us not have any illusions about the current ILWU leadership. They allow these radical actions under pressure from the membership, and try to brake them to the degree possible.

Thus for example, when you had the one day strike against the Iraq War in 2008, the original resolution passed was for a strike against the wars in Iraq *and Afghanistan.*

But when the strike rally happened, the people running it (primarily Jack Heyman as it happens, the guy who put up the motion in the first place, but that's another story) deepsixed any mention of Afghanistan and stuck to the safer issue of opposing the Iraq war, just like Obama, whom the ILWU campaigned for.

-M.H.-

[A Marxist Historian]

I should also note here that virtually none of the actions that ILWU members take are "wildcats". There is a very strict provision in the union's rules about that. Nearly all of the actions taken by the ILWU are decisions adopted at meetings. Those that aren't are given tacit sanction ("Whatever you decide is fine") by the leadership. One of our members was a part of the ILWU blockade of the Nedlloyd Kimberly and other South African ships, and knows well how the union leaderships have been willing historically to support militant workers' actions.

ON EDIT: The above post and quote from Merrilees is that tacit sanction I mentioned.

The top ILWU leadership tired to sabotaged the Nedlloyd Kimberly boycott every way they could. With some help from certain alleged revolutionaries in the union I should add.

Here's the real story of how the boycott went down, told by those who fought for it, namely the Spartacist-supported Militant Caucus. The story from the horse's mouth, not comments from touristic outside observers.

http://www.icl-fi.org/english/wv/873/nedlloyd_kimberley.html

The article is also a model for explaining how revolutionaries should act within unions, especially when elected to union office. And addresses a lot of the other issues raised in this thread too.

-M.H.-

[Le Socialiste]

God, just reading some of the Youtube comments about this is depressing. Granted, it is Youtube, but still.

These were some of the comments made about this video:

R0XkhQRxs1E



They deserved it! They should have backed up and hit more of them!






Hey longshoremen, You guys are nuts. My opinion is that D.H.S. needs to look into declaring the ILWU as domestic terrorists. You are already guilty of terrorist activity and it's just a matter of time until one of you goes too far and hurts or kills someone. Get a clue and drop it. It's not worth your freedom for a job you will never get.





These thugs will survive. Where is the outrage over the unions cutting brake lines?





It's unfortunate that the neanderthals who jumped in front of the SUV weren't severely maimed. Someone will get killed before this is all over - I hope it is an ILWU member.





Union workers are the people who weren't smart enough to get high paying jobs so they take a medium paying job and threaten to beat up a company if they don't get paid more. Bullies plain and simple.
The men screamed profanities and threatened the driver. He can easily claim he feared for his safety. RUN THEM ALL OVER




I wouldn't...I'd just think that it SUCKS that I'm now out of a job. But, then again, I've never relied on any group/union (nor would I) to assist me in being gainfully employed. There aren't unions where I live (northeast Nebraska) and I'm very happy for that. Everything (services, for example) is MUCH, MUCH cheaper here.
Those with the "union mindset" are an anomaly to "the rest of us." You think YOU control your employer and that's just nuts and un-American to me.




THAT WAS AWESOME!! I love seeing bullies get what's coming to them. I am just disappointed that they didn't get caught under the wheel. I would love to have seen the truck bounce up as it crushed the pathetic piece of garbage.





This is just stupid. Of course the police would do nothing to the SUV driver, they jumped in front of a Suburban, you deserved to get hit by a car when you jump in its way plain and simple. And the reasonable action for these Union workers is to break in to the port and break everything. That's how you get hired for jobs, by destroying the place you want to work.....Prius driver needed to pull out a Colt M1911 and blast them.



And my personal favorite:



This is Obama's army!



:(

[Rusty Shackleford]

I usually just respond to youtube comments that are anti-union with variations of "fuck" centered one liner insults. quick, easy, useless like any other long-winded youtube debate, and a nice valve to let off some steam.

they make me want to say "i hope you get knee-capped some day" but thats just dumb to say. :lol:

[Martin Blank]

Here's the real story of how the boycott went down, told by those who fought for it, namely the Spartacist-supported Militant Caucus. The story from the horse's mouth, not comments from touristic outside observers.

http://www.icl-fi.org/english/wv/873/nedlloyd_kimberley.html

I knew you were going to post this link, so I made sure to read the article yesterday. That article is mainly about the 1984 action, with it only briefly mentioning the other two. I imagine that's mainly because of the whole ET issue. Our member was not involved in the 1984 action, but the one a couple years or so before.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Solidarity! Don't know too much about the situation or its background/history but this is a welcome spike in autonomous militancy!:)

[praxis1966]

The ILWU is the backbone of the labor movement here in California, and has been ever since the SF General Strike in the 1930s. It's founder-leader Harry Bridges was the leading labor light for the American Communist Party.

You understate in fact some of the things they've done down the years. In 2008 they had a one-day strike vs. the Iraq War, and last year another calling for jailing Oscar Grant.

Once a month by contract they have the right to stop work for one day for a union meeting, so this was all actually quite legal, and not quite as daringly radical as it sounds. Still, it tells ya something.

In the '70s and '80s in particular, it had a whole lot of left wing influence, with both longshore Local 10 in the Bay Area, the historic heart of the union, and warehouse Local 6, the most important warehouseman's local, having Spartacist-supported Militant Caucuses with two members on the union exec board in each local (and plenty other radical officers too as well probably, but I'm less familiar, maybe others can comment. Certainly a good number of pro-CP officers, though even then they weren't too radical on union issues.)

No longer the case, due to a political split and just plain retirements (and warehouse local 6 kinda collapsing), but the leading radical light in the union who just recently retired, Jack Heyman, is another ex-Spartacist whose proclamations often have a semi-Spartacist flavor, though he is on the outs with them.

-M.H.-

^This is what happens when you don't read the entirety of a thread. I mentioned a bunch of the stuff (albeit in brief) you're talking about on page two. And I'm well aware of the '34 General Strike also... The folks from my IWW branch made sure of that. Never mind that I've actually attended a little thing called Labor Fest which does a pretty good job of commemorating that history. lol Shit, man, I've seen the murals on the inside of Coit Tower for crying out loud. Like I said, I'm not an expert in the field, but I know a fair bit... So I kind of resent the idea that I'm in need of a lecture here.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

^This is what happens when you don't read the entirety of a thread. I mentioned a bunch of the stuff (albeit in brief) you're talking about on page two. And I'm well aware of the '34 General Strike also... The folks from my IWW branch made sure of that. Never mind that I've actually attended a little thing called Labor Fest which does a pretty good job of commemorating that history. lol Shit, man, I've seen the murals on the inside of Coit Tower for crying out loud. Like I said, I'm not an expert in the field, but I know a fair bit... So I kind of resent the idea that I'm in need of a lecture here.
That's what some of the murals are of? The 1934 strike?

[A Marxist Historian]

I knew you were going to post this link, so I made sure to read the article yesterday. That article is mainly about the 1984 action, with it only briefly mentioning the other two. I imagine that's mainly because of the whole ET issue. Our member was not involved in the 1984 action, but the one a couple years or so before.

True enough. I wasn't posting the piece to dump on your guy, but to make the general points, especially about the role of the ILWU leadership. It's natural that it focuses more on the 1984 boycott, as that was the one the Spartacist caucus was heavily involved in. They argue that it was the better one, an argument I find very persuasive.

As for the ET/BT, who barely exist anymore, it's impossible to avoid mentioning them, they certainly played a role too. The article was mostly written as an answer to all the denunciations the BT sent the Spartacists' way over this, but fortunately does not restrict itself to factional polemic.

In both local 10 and local 6, one executive board member of the local stayed with the Spartacists and one went over to the BT. The Spartacists and their BT splitoff were the main left forces in the ILWU in the '80s. Obviously the split was unfortunate from the standpoint of the left forces in the ILWU, which are mostly gone now. But given the seriousness of the trade union issues involved, well laid out in the article, it was unavoidable I think.

I was myself a Bay Area trade union activist in this period and for many years thereafter, and I know all these people. The article matches my own observations very well.

-M.H.-

[A Marxist Historian]

^This is what happens when you don't read the entirety of a thread. I mentioned a bunch of the stuff (albeit in brief) you're talking about on page two. And I'm well aware of the '34 General Strike also... The folks from my IWW branch made sure of that. Never mind that I've actually attended a little thing called Labor Fest which does a pretty good job of commemorating that history. lol Shit, man, I've seen the murals on the inside of Coit Tower for crying out loud. Like I said, I'm not an expert in the field, but I know a fair bit... So I kind of resent the idea that I'm in need of a lecture here.

Eh, I call myself "a Marxist Historian" for a reason, lecture is my normal mode, do try not to take it too personally. Sorry if I went a bit overboard there.

I go to Labor Fest too, though I was too busy to make it this year unfortunately.

-M.H.-

[A Marxist Historian]

That's what some of the murals are of? The 1934 strike?

praxis has me beat there, I've never actually seen them but I've heard about them. I think that's exactly what they are all about. The general strike is recognized by everybody in SF as one of the great events of San Francisco history.

SF Chron columnist Herb Caen, who until he died was the most famous journalist in SF since William Randolph Hearst, once called Harry Bridges "one of the three great bridges of San Francisco."

-M.H.-

[Broletariat]

I made this flier, feedback appreciated, I can change the text if a better suggestion is put forth.


http://i.imgur.com/i5V0a.png

[A Marxist Historian]

I made this flier, feedback appreciated, I can change the text if a better suggestion is put forth.


http://i.imgur.com/i5V0a.png

Not bad. The traditional union slogan, which the ILWU likes to use, is "an injury to one is an injury to all." Goes all the way back to the Knights of Labor in the 1880s.

YOur banner headline is effectively the same thing, but worded a little differently and a little more aggressively. Is that what you had in mind?

The only real problem is that any one seeing this poster is gonna wonder just who that "we" is, and might be suspicious as to what you're up to. Signatures are a good thing for trust, but just signing with your own name could get you into trouble and wouldn't really tell anybody anything. That's one of many reasons why these things are in general done better by organizations than by single inviduals.

-M.H.-

[praxis1966]

That's what some of the murals are of? The 1934 strike?

Not exactly, but they're quite obviously sympathetic to both communism in general and revolutionary unionism in specific. There's a multiracial labor march, a guy holding a copy of the Manifesto, cityscapes that have popular leftist newspapers of the day in the news stands, all sorts of shit. They were painted right around the same time as the General Strike, though, so suffice to say worker's consciousness was at a high... It was due to their protestations that that sort of thing was included.

EDIT: Actually, it was Kapital that the guy was holding... I've seen them twice, but the last time was about a year ago so my memory's a bit hazy, lol.

From the Wiki:


After Diego Rivera (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Rivera)'s Man at the Crossroads (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_at_the_Crossroads) mural was destroyed by its Rockefeller Center patrons for the inclusion of an image of Lenin, the Coit Tower muralists protested, picketing the tower. Sympathy for Rivera led some artists to incorporate leftist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leftist) ideas and composition elements in their works. Bernard Zakheim's "Library" depicts fellow artist John Langley Howard crumpling a newspaper in his left hand as he reaches for a shelved copy of Karl Marx's Das Kapital with his right, and Stackpole is painted reading a newspaper headline announcing the destruction of Rivera's mural; Victor Arnautoff's "City Life" includes The New Masses and The Daily Worker periodicals in the scene's news stand rack; John Langley Howard's mural depicts an ethnically diverse Labor March as well as showing a destitute family panning for gold while a rich family observes; and Stackpole's Industries of California was composed along the same lines as an early study of the destroyed Man at the Crossroads.

[Rusty Shackleford]

you might want to narrow it down. make it so you can print 4-6 flyers per piece of paper. shrink the image and text.
the two cards to the left are about the size in relation to a standard sheet of paper you want to go for. its just efficient.
full size paper and wrapping it around a pole with some clear tape works great for cross walks at intersections.



CANVAS THE PNW!
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j186/DonaldDouglas/Americaneocon/Wilshire%20Federal%20Building/LongBeachSocialism006-1.jpg

[praxis1966]

praxis has me beat there, I've never actually seen them but I've heard about them. I think that's exactly what they are all about. The general strike is recognized by everybody in SF as one of the great events of San Francisco history.

You actually may be more correct than I am on this point. I quoted the Wiki above, but that kind of conflicts with my memory of how they were explained to me by fellow workers. The Wiki says they were commissioned in '33 but doesn't say when they were completed. It also says they were in response to the destruction of Rivera's work in NYC, but as I always understood it they were a direct reflection of the mood at the time. I'd never heard the Rivera thing until I looked that bit up.
(http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2008/10/coit_tower_and_the_history_of.html)

[A Marxist Historian]

A great little piece on this union rebellion by an LA labor playwright was posted on the Transport Worker website.

http://www.transportworkers.org/node/1924

-M.H.-

[Dimmu]

Very refreshing to see unions take these kind of measures!

[Binh]

When judges issue injunctions blocking militant actions by union members, we should try to find non-union members who will pick up where they left off i.e. to get around the injunction.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Not exactly, but they're quite obviously sympathetic to both communism in general and revolutionary unionism in specific. There's a multiracial labor march, a guy holding a copy of the Manifesto, cityscapes that have popular leftist newspapers of the day in the news stands, all sorts of shit. They were painted right around the same time as the General Strike, though, so suffice to say worker's consciousness was at a high... It was due to their protestations that that sort of thing was included.

EDIT: Actually, it was Kapital that the guy was holding... I've seen them twice, but the last time was about a year ago so my memory's a bit hazy, lol.

From the Wiki:
I visited Coit Tower probably about two months ago for the first time in my life and was totally surprised at the murals, it's really nice. I remember seeing stuff like "The Daily Worker" painted in their and my mom even noticed the guy taking Das Kapital off of the shelves and she asked me "Didn't you buy that book a while ago." Shame that there's a giant statue of Christopher Columbus outside of Coit Tower though...

[praxis1966]

Shame that there's a giant statue of Christopher Columbus outside of Coit Tower though...

lol I know, right? Makes me wanna hurl.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

lol I know, right? Makes me wanna hurl.
And that's what made me totally surprised to see those murals inside the tower. I mean we park the car, walk around look at the scenery, walk up to the statue and see it's Columbus and immediately I'm thinking "Screw this place". Then you walk inside and the walls are covered with all those murals, wtf?

[Rusty Shackleford]

Holy shit. Coit Tower is like a goddamn easter egg.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I think that's more because they don't have a choice than anything else. The rank-and-file of the ILWU is so militant that they will simply outflank the international and go outside of the union if need be.

Some of the UMWA tops used to act in a similar way during all the wildcats and big strikes of the 70's and 80's, while simultaneously signing bullshit agreements with the bosses and trying to push through crap contracts.I think this is true in this case. I also think that radicals with an analysis of union leadership need to be nuanced right now because I think we've been comfortable with a situation in which union leaders did everything they could to keep protests symbolic arms of partnership-style negotiations.

Now we are beginning to see the development of a labor atmosphere where sometimes unions will be pushed from below while at other points union leaders may actually begin to endorse or even organize more militant actions. From a revolutionary perspective though, I think the important thing is that the union leaders may initiate things, but it will be mainly out of necissity. Wisconsin is an example of both these pressures coming to bear on the union leadership: there was a push from below due to general class anger and also, because the entire ability of unions to organize was under attack, the union heads supported the protests. Of course this support was also not in the form of concrete labor actions but of a social-protest and the union quickly tried to pull this class anger towards an election strategy.

But in general - woo-fucking-hoo - this is awesome and another example (Republic Window and Doors, Wisconsin, Verizon) that there is much more willingness among US workers to fight back and that the era of an unopposed ruling class war on workers has ended (though the outcome and the time-frame for this "window" is obviously very unclear) and there is the possibility to build working class fight-back and struggle unlike anytime in most of our lives.

[Jimmie Higgins]

And that's what made me totally surprised to see those murals inside the tower. I mean we park the car, walk around look at the scenery, walk up to the statue and see it's Columbus and immediately I'm thinking "Screw this place". Then you walk inside and the walls are covered with all those murals, wtf?The statue came in later too I think.


The general strike is recognized by everybody in SF as one of the great events of San Francisco history. Well I think that legacy is definitely one of the reasons that the bay area was more immune to McCarthyism after the war and was the region where radicalism began to redevelop in the 1960s. Also it says something that there are all these murals still and other things like a tunnel named after a communist labor leader in the US-fucking-A (I'm shocked it hasn't be renamed after some Tech-firm yet:lol:).

And as a personal anecdote, my bay area born and raised WWII-generation relatives are Democrats who totally buy into all the "too much entitlements" "people live beyond their means these days" "unions played a role once but are just greedy now" arguments you hear a lot. But while complaining about "greedy workers" and "these damn kids today and their hip-hop" bullshit, if anyone dares criticize the strike, they go crazy and say, "you don't understand, it was hard back then, people were out of work and bosses were brutal!"

Hmm, talk about mixed consciousness.

[praxis1966]

The statue came in later too I think.

I'm pretty sure you're right.


Well I think that legacy is definitely one of the reasons that the bay area was more immune to McCarthyism after the war and was the region where radicalism began to redevelop in the 1960s. Also it says something that there are all these murals still and other things like a tunnel named after a communist labor leader in the US-fucking-A (I'm shocked it hasn't be renamed after some Tech-firm yet:lol:).

Yeah, there was a lecture at Labor Fest '09 I believe that talked about this very idea. Basically, it traced the roots of '60s counterculture to that strike and traced a coherent line between the two.

[vyborg]

Sorry if I dont go trough the entire topic and you already explained it. I would like to know whether these workers have some political connection or are they only union militants

[Jimmie Higgins]

Sorry if I dont go trough the entire topic and you already explained it. I would like to know whether these workers have some political connection or are they only union militantsI don't know if you meant it this way when you said "only union militants" but frankly I'd be sad if they were radicals rather than union militants. Not because we don't need more radical workers - we do! - but because it would lessen the significance of this action as an example of increased combativity among larger layers of the class beyond the already consciously radical sections. In the US since the 1970s militant actions like this have been very few and far between.


Yeah, there was a lecture at Labor Fest '09 I believe that talked about this very idea. Basically, it traced the roots of '60s counterculture to that strikeYeah that's probably the same dude I stole the argument from - lol.

[Sasha]

related?


Activists Prank Port Convention (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/09/13/activists-prank-port-convention)

Posted by Goldy (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/goldy/Author?oid=4904583) on Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 7:00 AM

The American Association of Port Authorities is holding its annual convention (https://www.aapa2011.org/SiteSplash.aspx) in Seattle this week, and some local protesters are having a bit of fun at their expense. Yesterday, some pranksters slipped a revised agenda (pdf (http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2011/09/12/1315893513-mock_aapa_agenda_final.pdf)) underneath the doors of all 900 rooms at the Westin Hotel, promoting mock sessions like "The 'Green Washing' of the Cargo Supply Chain Award," "Handout Happy Hour," "Integrating Jim Crow into Today’s Workplace," and the following little dig at Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani:
http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2011/09/12/1315893475-aapa.jpg
The entire mock agenda is pretty well done—an informative mix of snark and pointed critique. Labor, social justice, and environmental activists have a lot of legitimate gripes against the Port of Seattle and the industry as a whole, and it's great to see these groups having a little fun with their politics. Read the whole thing (http://www.thestranger.com/images/blogimages/2011/09/12/1315893513-mock_aapa_agenda_final.pdf).
This is just the first in what's promised to be a week full of actions, including we're told, the deployment of 20-foot inflatable asthma inhaler.

[Sasha]

longshoreman arrested: http://www.kgw.com/news/Man-who-confronted-news-crew-accussed-of-vandalism-129751523.html

[chimx]

more arrests are being made: http://tdn.com/news/local/article_75b8d090-e319-11e0-94e7-001cc4c03286.html