Open
World Conference of Workers
In Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights
International Solidarity Rally With ILWU Targets Employer/Government Offensive
"This is just the beginning of the fight," warns ILWU
Local 10 Secretary-Treasurer Clarence Thomas
By ALAN BENJAMIN
On Thursday, Oct. 10 -- just two days after the Bush administration
secured a Taft-Hartley injunction to end an 11-day employer lockout on 29
West Coast ports -- a spirited solidarity rally with the International
Longshore and Warehouse Union was held at the ILWU Local 10 hall in San
Francisco, with an estimated 200 unionists and activists in attendance.
"We may not be 2,000 people in this hall," said Trent Willis,
Local 10 business agent and co-emcee of the rally, "but we sure as
hell sound like it."
The rally was built on just one day's notice to coincide with the visit to
San Francisco by two top officers of the International Dockworkers Council
(IDC), but also to send an immediate signal that the labor movement in the
Bay Area and around the world will not stand by idly if, as expected, the
employers in the Pacific Maritime Association utilize the special
provisions of Taft-Hartley to fine the union -- or even fire workers --
for alleged "slowdowns" or any other such trumped-up charges.
[See article below from Oct. 12 San Francisco Chronicle for a
report on how the PMA is already claiming the ILWU is organizing
"slowdowns."]
Willis set the tone for the evening when he explained the character and
stakes of the fight waged by the ILWU against the PMA and the government.
"This is a class struggle," he said. "Make no mistake about
it: The bosses and the government want to bust our union because they know
we represent a militant and progressive tradition that must be broken if
they're to succeed in imposing their global corporate agenda."
Representing that proud ILWU tradition at the rally was Asher Harer, a
retired member of ILWU Local 34 and active pensioner. "I am 90 years
old and still fighting," said Harer to a standing ovation.
"Because of our union and the struggles we waged for more than 60
years, we've won significant gains for our members and for all working
people. As a retiree, my co-pay for prescriptions worth $300 or more is
only $1. That is the strength of our union. That's why the employers want
to smash us. They cannot tolerate the example we've set for all
workers."
Harer concluded his brief comments to thunderous applause when he said,
"I'm sticking to the union till the day I die."
Another veteran trade unionist addressed the rally, again to underscore
the rich and militant tradition of the ILWU which remains a guiding light
for unionists and activists the world over. To the roaring chant of
"Go, Jack, Go!", Jack Henning, Secretary-Treasurer-Emeritus of
the California Labor Federation, took the mike and recounted in some
detail his years working together with ILWU founder Harry Bridges.
"American capital," Henning said, "wants to take the
longshore union movement back to the days when there was no coastwide
bargaining, no master contract. And now they have one of their very own in
the White House to make sure their every wish is honored."
"The ILWU had to wage a heroic struggle to become the union it is
today," Henning continued. "Bridges was maligned, cursed, and
hated. They put him in prison. But they could not break his spirit or that
of this fighting union. And they won't be able to break the union today
with all their injunctions and lockouts. The union and its great history
will prevail."
Labor officials from throughout the Bay Area addressed the rally to bring
their solidarity greetings to the longshore workers and to pledge their
support for any action campaigns that might be needed in the next rounds
of the struggle against the PMA and the Bush administration.
Chuck Mack, vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters,
stressed the importance of the historic coalition -- the watefront pact --
between the ILWU, the Teamsters and the East Coast ILA longshore union.
"Through this pact," Mack said, "we'll do whatever it takes
to see that there is full economic justice for the ILWU."
Judy Goff, president of the Central Labor Council of Alameda County,
lambasted the PMA's claims of "slowdowns." She said, "When
the PMA talks about slowdowns, what they're really saying is they want
increased productivity -- at any cost. This is unacceptable in any
industry, but particularly in the maritime industry, which is the
second-most dangerous industry in the country."
"The huge backlog of ships," Goff continued, "puts the
union in double jeopardy. The lives of the dockworkers will be endangered
in the name of productivity -- especially with this huge mess in the
ports, which the PMA -- and only the PMA -- is responsible for. We will
not stand by as dockworkers put their lives on the line to move this
cargo, and as workers are blamed for the mess."
Bjon Borg, a representative from the International Dockworkers Council (IDC),
was a keynote speaker at the rally and was greeted with loud applause. The
IDC is one of the two international dockworkers' federations -- the other
being the International Transportworkers Federation (ITF) -- to which the
ILWU is affiliated. The IDC was formed to build active solidarity with the
Liverpool dockers in their portracted battle. The IDC also has worked
actively to support the Charleston Five, the Australian dockworkers, and
many other workers under attack.
[We are reprinting as a separate posting the greetings from Bjorn Borg and
also the greetings to the rally from IDC General Coordinator Julian Garcia
Gonzalez, who had been scheduled to address the rally but had to return to
Spain on a union emergency.]
Solidarity messages and presentations were delivered by Jack Heyman
(co-rally emcee and Business Agent of ILWU Local 10); Walter Johnson,
Secretary-Treasurer, San Francisco Labor Council; Clarence Thomas,
Secretary-Treasurer, ILWU Local 10; Art Pulaski, Secretary-Treasurer,
California Labor Federation; Marina Secchitano, President, Inland
Boatman's Union (Bay Area); Bobby Iwata, of the Marine Firemen's Union;
John Anderson, of District 1 of MEBA; Richard Mead, President of ILWU
Local 10; and Dan Martin, of the Master Mates and Pilots.
All these speakers slammed the impostion of Taft-Hartley, denounced
Senator Dianne Feinstein for joining Bush in demanding Taft-Hartley, and
pledged their full solidarity with the longshore workers.
The rally also heard from two labor rights activists -- Juliette Beck of
Public Citizen and Karen Pickett of the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and
the Environment -- who earlier that day were among a group of activists
who chained themselves to the doors of the downtown offices of the PMA --
literally to "lock the PMA officials out of their offices."
The activists, who were arrested for their action but later released, were
greeted with standing ovations for their determined action -- which made
all the TV and newspapers and helped to highlight the continued threats to
the ILWU.
Numerous greetings were sent to the rally from unions and political
organizations from around the world. Because of time constratins, some of
these messages were read, while others were simply referred to. The
participants in the rally were asked to visit the websites of the ILWU and
Portworkers Solidarity Committee for the full text of all these greetings.
(Alan Benjamin is co-coordinator of the Continuations Committee of the
Open World Conference. During the past weeks, he has helped coordinate the
San Francisco Labor Council's solidarity efforts with the ILWU.)