ILWU reaches settlement in Longview labor dispute

[Paulappaul]

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A Longshore union says it has reached a temporary settlement to end a months-long labor dispute at the Port of Longview.


The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the company, EGT, did not immediately disclose details of the agreement Monday. The ILWU has been aggressively protesting the company since last year, when EGT decided to use a contractor that staffed a new grain terminal with workers from a different union.


Union protesters blocked trains and repeatedly faced arrest despite the warnings of a federal judge. The judge has fined the union more than $300,000 for the tactics.


ILWU President Robert McEllrath said in a statement Monday that the agreement is a win for the union, the company and the Longview community. He says they are looking forward to developing a positive working relationship with EGT.


source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017313951_apwaunionclash.html

[Prometeo liberado]

As great as this news is I don't want to even think of what will be posted here by those who will say that this represents no real significance for workers. Either the union bosses sold them out or the workers didn't go far enough and they settled, or everyone is bourgeoisie for working in the system. These are the "mythical workers" that everyone keeps talking about. Whatever. Up the Union! Up the struggle! And yes SOLIDARITY FOREVER!

[Ele'ill]

riot anyway

[citizen of industry]

As great as this news is I don't want to even think of what will be posted here by those who will say that this represents no real significance for workers. Either the union bosses sold them out or the workers didn't go far enough and they settled, or everyone is bourgeoisie for working in the system. These are the "mythical workers" that everyone keeps talking about. Whatever. Up the Union! Up the struggle! And yes SOLIDARITY FOREVER!

I'll wait to see the conditions of the settlement. If the union bosses sold them out it will be obvious. If ILWU local 21 gets the port jobs, or some other compensation, it will have been a victory.

[Jimmie Higgins]

As great as this news is I don't want to even think of what will be posted here by those who will say that this represents no real significance for workers. Either the union bosses sold them out or the workers didn't go far enough and they settled, or everyone is bourgeoisie for working in the system. These are the "mythical workers" that everyone keeps talking about. Whatever. Up the Union! Up the struggle! And yes SOLIDARITY FOREVER!

It does have an effect, but unfortunately a negative one because the international came in and played a really shitty role. I don't believe that the local has even voted on this yet but it doesn't seem to matter to McEllrath or the international in the article posted here.

[Prometeo liberado]

I'll wait to see the conditions of the settlement. If the union bosses sold them out it will be obvious. If ILWU local 21 gets the port jobs, or some other compensation, it will have been a victory.

The membership will have the final say in this of course, but the very fact that the union didn't buckle is the bigger victory here. As I have been lucky enough to have grown up in a union family I can honestly say that poor union leadership is at the very least a byproduct of a disinterested membership. And when it's to late the thieves are in charge and you are stuck with a bullshit contract for another 4 or 5 years.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

The union bureaucracy, especially at the international level, was as frightened or more as EGT of the "actions" planned for Longview (http://insurgentnotes.com/2012/01/all-eyes-on-longview-an-injury-to-one-is-an-injury-to-all/). It's surely a huge coincidence then that the company and the ILWU tops pulled this "temporary agreement" out of their collective asses at the last minute.

The top labor boss declares: "the agreement is a win for the union, the company and the Longview community." This is unionism in the U.S. today. A far cry from the old AFL preamble (1886-1955): "A struggle is going on in all the nations of the civilized world, between the oppressors and the oppressed of all countries, a struggle between the capitalist and the laborer, which grows in intensity from year to year, and will work disastrous results to the toiling millions, if they are not combined for mutual protection and benefit."

The only thing more pathetic is the apologia and tailing of the "revolutionary leftists," who, despite their rhetoric and Che Guevara flags, fall to their knees fast enough to rip holes through their Levi's.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

The membership will have the final say in this of courseNo, not "of course." There's a long, long history of union tops selling out local struggles, like when the TWU international joined the representatives of the bourgeois order in condemning the "illegal" 2005 transit strike in New York. And there's a long history of maneuvering behind the membership's back, forcing through bullshit, etc.


but the very fact that the union didn't buckle is the bigger victory here.Except that the international did buckle... in the face of the threat of broad, class-wide militancy and mass picketing. In other words, they buckled in the face of the anger of workers they supposedly represent! With the calls for solidarity actions and rumors of wildcats floating around, they weren't confident their earlier declaration (http://www.ilwu.org/?p=3378) that "a call for a protest of EGT is not a call for a shutdown of West Coast ports and must not result in one" would be ignored, reputed, surpassed.

I mean fuck, the "settlement" was brokered by Chris Gregoire, the governor of Washington!
Jan 23, 2012, Olympia, WA — Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced that EGT and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union reached a tentative settlement on pending legal issues surrounding labor disputes at EGT’s grain export facility in Longview.

“I asked EGT and ILWU to come together in a good faith effort to overcome their differences,” Gregoire said. “Both parties should be commended for their willingness to work together and compromise. This framework reflects considerable effort to put the interests of the Longview community and the entire Columbia River basin first. I am confident an agreement can be reached that will satisfy both parties and allow the new grain terminal to become fully operational.”

“We are pleased to announce that after a series of discussions convened by Governor Gregoire, the ILWU and EGT have reached a tentative settlement to resolve the pending legal matters between the parties and the Port of Longview,” said EGT CEO Larry Clarke. “While the parties are still working to finalize certain conditions over the next several days, we are optimistic we can resolve the dispute and get on with the business of operating the facility. From the beginning, we had two core goals – to operate this 21st Century facility safely and efficiently and to ensure the entire Longview Community shares in the economic benefits this facility will provide. We are optimistic this process will help us reach both of these objectives.”

“This is a win for the ILWU, EGT, and the Longview community,” said ILWU President Robert McEllrath. “I want to thank Governor Gregoire for her leadership in working with both parties to find common ground. The ILWU has eight decades of grain export experience in the Northwest, and we look forward to the opportunity to develop a positive working relationship with EGT.” - press release from the bosses (http://www.egtgrain.com/news/release/governor-gregoire-announces-tentative-settlement-between-egt-and-the-international-longshore-and-warehouse-union/)
Sounds like a proletarian victory to me!


As I have been lucky enough to have grown up in a union family I can honestly say that poor union leadership is at the very least a byproduct of a disinterested membership.As I have been "lucky enough" (please remind me to tell my cousin how lucky he is when he crawls out the tiny crevice under the boiler at the coke plant, covered in dirt and chemical residue, after finishing his 10 hour shift tonight) to be the product of two "union families," I can honestly say that this is absolute bullshit.

Since you seem to be unaware, Mr. Union-by-blood, I present to you: Arnold Miller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Miller#Miners_for_Democracy), UMWA president by way of a rank-and-file "union democratization" movement, who become one of the most notorious pieces of shit in the history of the union bureaucracy -- and that's saying something. In fact, miners became so pissed off at his refusal to fight the bosses that they launched repeated wildcat strikes outside of and even against the union.

Was he just a "bad guy?" Don't know, don't care. It's simply the reality of the social role, as Marty Glaberman pointed out:

"One of the things George Rawick said is, 'Unions don’t organize workers. Workers organize unions.' Workers’ self-activity does create organizations create unions and other institutions, which may become bureaucratized and turn against the worker. Unions are not a secret plot designed to fool the workers. Workers organize them and then they get out of control."

&

"Full-time status for the union committeeman, which began as a means of freeing the union representative from the pressures of management, became a means of freeing the representative from the pressure of the workers."

Here's a tip that seems to have gotten lodged in your prestigious family tree (perhaps next to the kite you lost last summer): Being a working-class partisan doesn't mean fellating every labor lieutenant you can get your mouth around.

Take a lesson from history.... and Mother Jones: "It makes me sad indeed to think that the sacrifices men and women made to get out from under the iron heel of the gunmen were so often in vain! That the victories gained are so often destroyed by the treachery of the workers’ own officials..."

[Prometeo liberado]

Pretty sure the second post from the top called right. (head shaking).

[Jimmie Higgins]

I've been hearing that local 21 will probably vote in favor. The caravan being organized has been put on hold, but not cancelled outright. We'll have to see what things look like and how they shake out as more information comes out.

[Veovis]

Damn, and I was looking forward to stirring shit up. :(

[Prometeo liberado]

Take a lesson from history.... and Mother Jones: "It makes me sad indeed to think that the sacrifices men and women made to get out from under the iron heel of the gunmen were so often in vain! That the victories gained are so often destroyed by the treachery of the workers’ own officials..."[/QUOTE]
Either the union bosses sold them out or the workers didn't go far enough and they settled. I knew I'd see it here.
"a call for a protest of EGT is not a call for a shutdown of West Coast ports and must not result in one" would be ignored, reputed, surpassed.
The call to shut down the ports was answered once by others. They knew that they couldn't rely on more bodies or any bodies this time around. This was a Labor dispute in a capitalist system, youre never gonna get even close to what you want, thats real-politic. What should be lauded here is that real people who have been out of work can now get back to paying bills and feeding their children. Or would you, in your theoretical holier than though socialism, keep them out on the street to prove a tactical point? More union and non-union members were politicized by this strike, a strike that even the feds would have had no problem shutting down and were debating on doing so.

Hack? You could surely do better. I always do.:D

[A Marxist Historian]

I'll wait to see the conditions of the settlement. If the union bosses sold them out it will be obvious. If ILWU local 21 gets the port jobs, or some other compensation, it will have been a victory.

If the ILWU gets to keep the port jobs and jurisdiction, that's a victory.

"Some other compensation," thirty pieces of silver, would be a defeat disguised as a victory. There is more than just the jobs of a fairly small number of Local 21 members in the balance.

With or without compensation, if the ILWU loses jurisdiction here over grain shipments, that is the thin edge of the wedge that could lead to the destruction of the ILWU.

-M.H.-

[citizen of industry]

If the ILWU gets to keep the port jobs and jurisdiction, that's a victory.

"Some other compensation," thirty pieces of silver, would be a defeat disguised as a victory. There is more than just the jobs of a fairly small number of Local 21 members in the balance.

With or without compensation, if the ILWU loses jurisdiction here over grain shipments, that is the thin edge of the wedge that could lead to the destruction of the ILWU.

-M.H.-

I hesitated a long time before pushing the button. "Some other compensation" would have to be really, really good. As I said, I'm waiting for the terms.

[Paulappaul]

more news :

Brothers and Sisters,

Jack Heyman of Local 10 in Oakland heard from his contacts in local 21 that the members just voted unanimously to accept the agreement with EGT which gives the ILWU
- all the jobs at the EGT terminal, on the ships and on the shore, 25 - 30 workers per shift, 3 tenders and a walking boss
- full funding of pension and welfare
- 12 hours straight time; overtime after 40

Lets plan the celebration. 6 pm tonight, SEIU 503, 6401 SE Foster

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/01/longshore_workers_egt_settle_d.html

[Ele'ill]

I guess that's what Union and Community support can do. Let's do it again. What's up next?

[A Marxist Historian]

more news :

Brothers and Sisters,

Jack Heyman of Local 10 in Oakland heard from his contacts in local 21 that the members just voted unanimously to accept the agreement with EGT which gives the ILWU
- all the jobs at the EGT terminal, on the ships and on the shore, 25 - 30 workers per shift, 3 tenders and a walking boss
- full funding of pension and welfare
- 12 hours straight time; overtime after 40

Lets plan the celebration. 6 pm tonight, SEIU 503, 6401 SE Foster

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/01/longshore_workers_egt_settle_d.html

You always have to read the fine print, and never believe the terms till you see them in writing.

But if that's the way it is, that sounds like a victory. The 12 hours straight time is annoying however. Given the circumstances, the workers decided unanimously it seems that the world is not perfect.

This victory is partially due to OWS, which got the ILWU some really strong community support, but primarily due to the old fashioned union victory in September, when the Longview workers cleaned the bosses clocks the old fashioned way.

-M.H.-

[Paulappaul]

This victory is partially due to OWS, which got the ILWU some really strong community support, but primarily due to the old fashioned union victory in September, when the Longview workers cleaned the bosses clocks the old fashioned way.

Considering this didn't come sooner, I disagree. International Corporations aren't scared of just a single union, when the entire working class threatens to show up that's when they rush to the negotiation table conceding everything.


I guess that's what Union and Community support can do. Let's do it again. What's up next?

My dilemma exactly. What is next? Feburary 29th - shutting down the corporations? With the Port Shutdowns we had a goal in mind, a criteria for winning, and well, it seems we won. I don't see any reformist struggle on the table that won't lead to anything short of a revolution - but the working class doesn't seem ready for that. On one hand, we won, on the other, I see this as the end of the Occupy West Coast unless something happens and another terrain is open as to focus our energy.

[Ele'ill]

My dilemma exactly. What is next? Feburary 29th - shutting down the corporations? With the Port Shutdowns we had a goal in mind, a criteria for winning, and well, it seems we won. I don't see any reformist struggle on the table that won't lead to anything short of a revolution - but the working class doesn't seem ready for that. On one hand, we won, on the other, I see this as the end of the Occupy West Coast unless something happens and another terrain is open as to focus our energy.

Between Oakland and up north here we're on a major offensive for the first time in a long while. It's up to us. It doesn't end with the ILWU.

[Paulappaul]

Between Oakland and up north here we're on a major offensive for the first time in a long while. It's up to us. It doesn't end with the ILWU.

I feel like the enemy is so abstract though. EGT or the Police is so specific, yes we are on the offensive, though no doubt a retreating offensive, but we are fighting an abstract enemy through abstract methods. We continue the same marches, the same mic checks, but in the end there is still no criteria for victory no clear target for our attack. Its not like in a Strike or through Workplace struggles where the enemy is specific, management.

On Mayday, it seems like Unsettle is pushing for a May Day offensive in 2013 rather then 2012 :confused: duh fuck?

[Ele'ill]

I feel like the enemy is so abstract though. EGT or the Police is so specific, yes we are on the offensive, though no doubt a retreating offensive, but we are fighting an abstract enemy through abstract methods. We continue the same marches, the same mic checks, but in the end there is still no criteria for victory no clear target for our attack. Its not like in a Strike or through Workplace struggles where the enemy is specific, management.

I think back before the occupy stuff started and then right now as stuff is going on and I see a shift. I dunno the significance but I think stirring the pot is critical- especially with the momentum we have now. Maybe it'll lead to something. I don't see a failure if it doesn't lead to something. I like seeing people trying to push that envelop and find the right code to the puzzle. I think that's what this is all about. Sustained agitation draws a crowd.


On Mayday, it seems like Unsettle is pushing for a May Day offensive in 2013 rather then 2012 :confused: duh fuck?

:mad: But I can't wait that long. They have no idea what could happen between now and then. The call out has already been made for this year and I think we should build off whatever success or failures we end up with.

[Renegade Saint]

I feel like the enemy is so abstract though. EGT or the Police is so specific, yes we are on the offensive, though no doubt a retreating offensive, but we are fighting an abstract enemy through abstract methods. We continue the same marches, the same mic checks, but in the end there is still no criteria for victory no clear target for our attack. Its not like in a Strike or through Workplace struggles where the enemy is specific, management.

On Mayday, it seems like Unsettle is pushing for a May Day offensive in 2013 rather then 2012 :confused: duh fuck?
What the hell is a "retreating offensive"?

Assuming those terms mentioned before are correct it seems like a solid check in the win column for the workers. Especially considering that they were up against not only EGT and the police and the NLRB and other unions.

[Paulappaul]

What the hell is a "retreating offensive"?

We are still fighting, but not in the way were in when we had a General Strike or shutdown the Ports you twat. Think about it.


Assuming those terms mentioned before are correct it seems like a solid check in the win column for the workers.

Except the workers will return to their daily labors, exploited as usual, not giving a damn about Occupy unless they actually need them to win their labor struggles. This is a win only in a narrow sense of what could have been: tens of thousands pouring into Longview and taking over that fucking town and the boat when the Coast Guard would have tried to stop us.

[citizen of industry]

Isn't the term "fighting retreat?" I thought "retreat" and "offensive" were antonyms.

[Renegade Saint]

We are still fighting, but not in the way were in when we had a General Strike or shutdown the Ports you twat. Think about it.



Except the workers will return to their daily labors, exploited as usual, not giving a damn about Occupy unless they actually need them to win their labor struggles. This is a win only in a narrow sense of what could have been: tens of thousands pouring into Longview and taking over that fucking town and the boat when the Coast Guard would have tried to stop us.
1. If you say so.

2. I know. Since they didn't use it to start the revolution today it's a failure. :rolleyes:

[Ocean Seal]

Perhaps we have lost perspective. The union is clearly not on our side, or on the side of the workers. But everything has to start somewhere. If the union is able to save the jobs at the ports, even if it is because of an agreement with the bosses and their weakness before the true masters, it still means that we got something out of the bosses. The next time our demands will be greater, and eventually people are going to realize that the union doesn't care much for winning their battles, and then we can dump the union.

[Lev Bronsteinovich]

Look, if there are no major concessions, it is a victory, albeit a defensive one. By that I mean that, as far as I can tell from this discussion, no new gains have been won. But we must defend the old gains as well. As for underscoring the treachery of the union tops and the international, that should be part of the victory celebration (we won because we fought, in spite of the union leadership).

[A Marxist Historian]

Look, if there are no major concessions, it is a victory, albeit a defensive one. By that I mean that, as far as I can tell from this discussion, no new gains have been won. But we must defend the old gains as well. As for underscoring the treachery of the union tops and the international, that should be part of the victory celebration (we won because we fought, in spite of the union leadership).

This is a tremendous victory because it will encourage other workers to fight. The workers of Longview took on the company and the police physically, and beat them!

And that this gives the basically petty-bourgeois Occupy movement something useful to do, namely to support workers in struggle, is good too, though secondary.

-M.H.-