Union Dispute Near Seattle Turns Violent and Idles Ports

[Generic Other]

The busy ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., were shut down on Thursday as an increasingly violent dispute between unionized port workers and the owner of a grain export terminal in Longview, Wash., spilled over to the other facilities.

About 500 longshoremen stormed the new $200 million terminal in Longview before sunrise Thursday, carrying baseball bats, smashing windows, damaging rail cars and dumping tons of grain from the cars, police and company officials said.

Later in the day, more than 1,000 other longshoremen shut down the ports of Seattle and Tacoma by not coming to work.

<snip>

Members of the union are livid that the Longview terminal’s owner, EGT, is seeking to export grain without reaching an agreement with the union. Instead, EGT hired a contractor that uses workers from another union

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/business/union-dispute-near-seattle-turns-violent-and-idles-ports.html


Ever seen a wildcat strike of longshoremen along the whole West Coast?

[leftstreet]

1. K&R

[backscatter712]

2. About fucking time.

Don't tell me that our side's not allowed to do this.

The only way to get the subhuman fucks in the CEO class to come to the negotiating table at all is to break things and fuck with their money.

Nothing. Else. Works.

[Generic Other]

3. Everett longshoremen leave docks after dispute in Longview

http://heraldnet.com/article/20110908/BIZ/709089868/1001/NEWS0101

OK. That's the 4 biggest ports in Washington.

[amborin]

4. great! was also great to see all those cargo ships laden w/ crap from China idling off the coast of

Long Beach the last time they went on strike; Harry Bridges' legacy endures!

[Generic Other]

5. Oh yeah I recall seeing quite a few in Commencement Bay

Don't mess with the longshoremen. They teach the rest of us unions how it is done!

[Generic Other]

7. I see James Hoffa, Jr. is going to be in Tacoma tomorrow

in an unrelated supermarket warehouse negotiation.

[msongs]

6. shut down the whole port to protest one company = thuggery

all the normal people and business who are not part of this inter-union squabble should not be penalized

[DrunkenBoat]

9. Jesus wept.

[Generic Other]

10. It's not an inter-union squabble -- it's a management union busting tactic

Generations of longshoremen who worked those docks shed blood for the union. This is a big deal around here. To call the victims "thugs" shows how little information you have about the situation.

[Cid_B]

34. AP calls them hostage takers...

As they held security guards prisoner as well...

http://news.yahoo.com/longshoremen-storm-wash-state-port-damage-rr-144921214.html

[DrunkenBoat]

36. AP has the story wrong. No surprise.

Initial law enforcement reports suggested the protesters held the security guards hostage. Investigators, however, later learned that the six guards inside feared they would be injured or killed if they stepped into crowd of protesters roaring past a guard shack, Duscha said. He said the guards were unable to leave the area for about two hours.

By the time law enforcement arrived en force, the protesters had scattered, he said.

"They all left before we could mobilize some of our troops," Duscha said.

No one was injured and no one involved in Thursday morning's events has yet been arrested.

Dan Coffman, president of Longview-based Local 21 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said he doesn't know what happened at the terminal Thursday morning and couldn't confirm any of the local's 200 members was involved. He criticized Duscha for making early, exaggerated claims against union longshoremen.

"It's totally ridiculous when you've got a police chief in this community that's accusing us of holding hostages. That is a blatant, total, all-out lie," Coffman said.


Read more: http://tdn.com/news/local/article_e98046a8-da30-11e0-bd16-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1XR8EvNHM



Read more: http://tdn.com/news/local/article_e98046a8-da30-11e0-bd16-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1XR6PlkEt

[Generic Other]

44. The sheriff retracted the "hostage" claim

Six guards were trapped for a couple of hours after at least 500 Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. and smashed windows in the guard shack, Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha said. He initially referred to the guards as "hostages," but later retracted that after the guards clarified no one had threatened them.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/09/08/1814440/longshoremen-storm-wash-state.html#ixzz1XQJskd7u

[DrunkenBoat]

50. Which was the thrust of the article I posted as well. You should have posted that

to Cid B, not me.

[Generic Other]

52. Sorry I meant to post to support your point...

You were correct.

[Occulus]

11. I suggest you read some history

You are woefully bereft of information on this topic.

[readmoreoften]

13. What's disgusting? Ignorant DU union-busting. Nice Republican "union thug" meme.

I swear you people are so far to the right you make my nose bleed sometimes.

[girl gone mad]

27. As long as there are still a couple of decent posters such as yourself..

I will keep reading DU.

The neoliberal creeps haven't completely taken over... yet.

[leftstreet]

29. +1

...and I add you to that dwindling list

[readmoreoften]

135. Why, thank you! :)

:hi:

[proud2BlibKansan]

92. +1

[Generic Other]

113. It came straight from Michelle Malkin's slimy lips

I won't bother to link you to her website.

[rhett o rick]

15. There are two sides in this war and you apparently are on the wrong side. nm

[lonestarnot]

22. Thuggery's asshole. People and business who are not part of this "inter-union squabble"

should be supporting union action. More Americans need to stand the fuck up for their jobs!

[Cid_B]

33. Really?

Support our cause or we'll break your shit...

Sounds fair... :eyes:

[Selatius]

42. No more destructive than accept lower wages and fewer benefits or have your job sent to China. nt

[Bake]

56. [phone]

I applaud the longshoremen!

:woohoo:

Bake

[MedicalAdmin]

85. It's called solidarity. I stand with the working class.

It appears you are temporarily embarrassed.

Will you stand with the working class or with your owners?

[lonestarnot]

93. It has apparently come to this according to richie rich who is standing on his piles of money.

[intheflow]

23. ...

What makes you think longshoremen aren't normal people? "Normal people" are fucked over by corporations all the time. I don't begrudge anyone for standing up against an oppressive system. They stand for all of us who aren't organized to do so.

[amborin]

25. this affects ALL workers; "normal" people owe lunch breaks, wages. pensions, to unions

the outcome of this dispute affects ALL workers

[Union Scribe]

28. Hmm, union workers aren't "normal people" eh?

[coalition_unwilling]

31. In the context of this struggle, you are little better than a scab. Hence, it's

off to my Ignore list for you.

[MedicalAdmin]

86. Don't use ignore.

Keep tabs on scabs

[Fuddnik]

38. It's called getting the job done.

That's how it works. Everyone else puts pressure on the port to settle.

That's what a successful strike is all about.

And just who is this "other union". A scab outfit formed by the shipper, and they called it a union?

[Bandit]

48. IMO They should shut down the entire fucking country

No trucks should be allowed to move until taxes on the very wealthy are increased and Union Rights are reinstated to all those Public Union employees in Wisconsin and Michigan and Florida etc... Nothing is going to change until we put a stop to Republican terrorism..

[iemitsu]

106. i agree, we need a general strike.

when the machine starts eating the employees who are hired to run it, it is time to throw the emergency shut off switch.
We then need to clean the mess from the machine, find out what went wrong, and fix it before restarting the machine.
and, by the way, if the country had had union safety rules in place this accident might not have ever happened.

[Sherman A1]

146. +1, Agreed & Well Said!

:toast:

[sabrina 1]

54. It has nothing to do with 'inter-union' squabble'.

It has everything to do with a Multi-National Corporation which receives subsidies and tax breaks from this country continuing the war on Workers and Unions in this country.

This 'squabble' has been going on for a while. First the Corp brought in cheap labor but since that made them look like the scum they are, they then had a Machiavellian idea that would undercut the Longshoremen, and brought in outside Contractors from a different union.

Their idea was to pit one union against another just so they could get their way. If this ends, they will not doubt replace the outside union workers with the cheap labor they were busing in, once again.

Some of those outsiders nearly killed two of the peacefully protesting Longshoremen by driving their truck directly at them not so long ago. And the Corp brought in its own private 'security' army to keep the people who actually live and raise their families there from peacefully protesting.

Even the sheriff got it, and said so. Those Longshoremen are not just fighting for themselves. They are joining the fight across the country to stop these Multi National Corps from doing here what they have been doing in third world countries for decades.

I fully support them and any private mercenary that works for a foreign entity that is attacking the livelihood of American workers, should expect the reaction they finally got.

[white_wolf]

59. Too bad. There is a real class warfare in this country and people have to pick a side.

The ruling class or the working class. I know what side I'm on. The question is, who do you stand with?

[nadinbrzezinski]

60. History of labor, I take it, ain't your strong point

[blindpig]

91. You don't understand a thing about working class solidarity

I suppose you would be opposed to a general strike too.

[DrunkenBoat]

8. Longview is "near" Portland Or (about an hour's drive), not Seattle (about 2.5 hours).

[Generic Other]

12. We think anything in the western part of our state is nearby

And that Portland is far away across the river.

The way it looks to me is that local longshoremen who had worked the docks in their town for generations are the victims. Rather than reach a contract agreement, the company pitted outsiders from another union against them in a classic example of underhandedness. They would replace the entire local workforce with outside workers which is what the new union members from Portland would certainly be in a community with few job opportunities.

This is about taking the bread out of the mouths of the people of this community. It's their town. Their docks. Apparently, the longshoremen up and down the Washington state agree.

[DrunkenBoat]

35. No we don't. Longview WA is *right on* the Columbia, across from Rainier Or.

Which is why it has a port.

[Generic Other]

41. Last I heard Longview was still in Washington state

Western Washingtonians. People in Oregon may claim parts of Washington as their own as the union down in Portland seems to have done, but I am not sure many of your neighbors to the north would agree. The Columbia River is still a very distinct boundary.

It is the Washington ports who closed in solidarity with their fellow union brothers and sisters. I didn't read about any Portland longshoremen joining the walkout. Only that their union local IUOE crossed over to our state to scab.

[DrunkenBoat]

49. Who said it wasn't? I said it's right across the river from Oregon, not "near Seattle".

I posted a simple clarification to the story.

Not sure what your comments are about, but I've never heard of anyone claiming that everything on the west side is "near Seattle".

PS: My family settled here in the 1880s.

[Generic Other]

51. You are acting territorial over prepostional choices

Near, far, here , there...Ironic that the IUOE headquartered in Portland also feels this desire to invade Washington turf.

Longview may be "near" Portland but it is "in" Washington. It is one of two routes to the Washington coast. All of us have to drive there to get to the ocean. That entitles us to say it is near us.

[DrunkenBoat]

53. Brother. I posted a simple correction to the story, and I have no idea why you felt compelled to

"correct" me with the stupid claim that everything on the west side is near Seattle.

I have no idea who this "us" you claim to be speaking for is; it ain't Washingtonians.


PS: IUOE isn't HQ'd in Portland, either.

[Generic Other]

57. I think the IUOE local in this case is from Portland

Sorry you don't like the fact that people in Washington claim that they live near Longview. Like I said, I consider the Columbia River a distinct boundary. I don't think I live near Portland. I do think I live near Longview. Yeah they are across the river from each other. And culturally a million miles away from each other. Most of the people I know in the South Sound believe they live near Longview. It would take me half an hour to drive there. And half an hour to drive to Seattle.

[DrunkenBoat]

58. Just where do you live that you can drive to L'vw in 30 min & Seattle in an hour?

Olympia is a little over an hour both ways, & that's about the midpoint.

I said nothing about people in Washington claiming they live near L'vw.

I justifiably said your post claiming "we" think everything on the west side is "near Seattle" is BS.

[Generic Other]

61. From Longview to Tacoma the traffic moves fast

And I always have to go to the bathroom. We get there in way less than an hour.

I really don't care anyway. You object that someone who lives in Washington has no problem seeing Longview as near Seattle, fine. Guess what? When my Euro-friends ask me where Portland is, I usually say "near Seattle."

I stand corrected. Next time someone asks I will tell them it's the center of the fucking universe and Longview is its satellite.
Get a grip. No one cares. To the rest of the world, we are all a podunk provincial backwater somewhere near Sarah Palin's house.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[DrunkenBoat]

63. You can drive from Tacoma to L'vw in 30 minutes. Right, at 170 miles an hour.

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=tacoma+wa+to+longview+wa&pbx=1&oq=tacoma+wa+to+longview+wa&aq=f&aqi=&aql=1&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2493l13351l0l13698l57l27l11l0l0l1l984l8911l0.7.7.5.1.1.4l26l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=3e82efc6cc141df0&biw=1024&bih=604


I repeat, I posted a simple factual correction. There was no need for your non-factual comment or any of the rest.

Tell your 'euro-friends' brussels is near amsterdam, bologne is near venice & london is near bristol and see what they think.

Yeah, & New York City is 'near' Reading PA.

[Generic Other]

66. You know you are really bothered by this aren't you?

How many posts are you going to make on this thread fixating on my driving habits, whether I think places in Western Washington are near Seattle or not, or whether I am full of shit or not.

I fear this will make your head explode to hear, but when I get to Centralia, I usually consider myself on the on the outskirts of Longview. In fact by the time I leave the dust of Olympia behind, I consider the whole rest of the state Longview!

Clearly, you have too much time to waste and not enough sense to stop this mad conversation.

You sound like you would be zero fun to ride up the Space Needle with.

[DrunkenBoat]

68. California or East Coast transplant. Yeah, there's only Seattle, the rest is flyover country.

The last time I rode in the space needle was 1963. It's for tourists.

I made a simple correction of fact for people (like yourself) who don't live here. Too bad you couldn't just accept it & pass on.

[Generic Other]

69. My family settled in Washington Territory in the 1880s

In the 1920s, my father marched from Camp Murray (the modern Ft. Lewis) to Vancouver Barracks. He always claimed it wasn't that long of a hike.

Again, you have managed to hijack this thread for the continuation of an utterly ridiculous argument.

Because no matter what you say, when the call went out up and down our waterfront, near and far, the longshoremen in Anacortes, Everett, Seattle and Tacoma answered. Where was Portland? Oh they sent the IUOE to scab.

[DrunkenBoat]

73. Yeah, he probably did it in half an hour.

[Generic Other]

74. Now you are being a little creepy

I am done with this conversation.

[iemitsu]

70. it is also a fact that people in seattle claim to live near mt rainier

when it is much closer to tacoma. should tacomans squawk and deny that seattle is near the mt. just because they are 30 miles closer?
it may be that since the longshoremen in longview got support from their fellow workers to the north that the proximity to seattle has been highlighted in various articles about this event and not portland, the hometown of the scabbing labor.

[DrunkenBoat]

72. It may be that people outside the area only know what they read in the paper.

Thus the counter-factual identification of the scabs as Portlanders just because the local (the membership of which actually comes from northern oregon & sw washington, not just from portland) is there --

and the implication that portland = scabtown generally -- also not the case.

And thus the counter-factual assertion that only northern washington longshoremen came out in support.

Look at the arrest records & you'll see it's not the case.

[iemitsu]

76. it is difficult to understand your persistence

in making an issue about other's geographic orientations.
for many, it seems, seattle is a recognizable landmark while portland is somewhat less known.
those who live north of longview view it as closer to them than portland and so don't consider that city when figuring the mileage between themselves and the longshoremen.

[DrunkenBoat]

79. It's very difficult for me to understand why you & your friend are so persistent in disputing the

FACT: Longview is 128 miles from Seattle -- not 'near'. It's as far from Seattle as Reading PA is from New York City, as far from Seattle as Los Angeles is from Tijuana.

Kent is near Seattle, Renton is near Seattle, Bellevue is near Seattle, Mercer Island is near Seattle. Longview isn't. People's subjective feelings don't alter that FACT.

It's 49 miles to Portland from Longview.

It was FOR those who don't know the geography that I posted this FACT: Longview is not near Seattle.

I would have been happy to leave it at that if you & your friend weren't obsessed with insisting you know better and are able to drive 97 miles in 30 minutes & everything south of Seattle is actually Longview anyway & everything west of the cascades is near Seattle, all washingtonians feel this way and it's all about how we *feel* about mileage and places, not actually existing mileage and places.

Why bother to read about the longshore dispute, just make something up that suits your feeling in whatever alternate universe it is you live in. Creepy indeed.

[iemitsu]

80. near is a relative term.

that is a fact.

[Muskypundit]

77. Come on guys. Are you really having this fight?

Its ALL part of cascadia in the future anyways :)

[Generic Other]

78. No, I put him on ignore

My first in all the years I have been on DU.

As for Cascadia, where would the capital be?

:rofl:

[Muskypundit]

88. Spokane.

:evilgrin:

[Generic Other]

94. Near Portland?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[iemitsu]

96. once i'm past ellensburg

the rest of the state is spokane.

[lumpy]

136. Yakima

v

[iemitsu]

139. yakima!

who would advocate for this site as the capitol of cascadia? :)
actually i retract that statement, it might be an auspicious site for the 1st city as it means Full-Belly.
and its so near to the puget sound where we are surrounded by acres of clams.

[lumpy]

133. LOL

v

[suffragette]

114. Vancouver, B.C

:evilgrin:

[iemitsu]

116. once i'm past bellingham

its all vancouver, bc to me.

[suffragette]

120. lol

[iemitsu]

131. :D

[DrunkenBoat]

82. The poster who is able to drive 97 miles in 30 minutes obviously lives in a different realm than

cascadia. Which is a term invented by an east coast transplant to california. Like the poster with the flying car.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Callenbach

[suffragette]

119. Hmm, Wikipedia has David McCloskey using Cascadia earlier

and Callenbach coining Ecotopia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_(independence_movement)

Also here:
http://cascadianow.wordpress.com/tag/david-mccloskey/
David McCloskey, a Seattle University Sociologist and founder of the Cascadia Institute, coined the term Cascadia in the late 1970’s. According to McCloskey, this “initial’ Cascadia included parts of Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Western Montana, British Columbia and South East Alaska), running in the north from the top of the Alaska panhandle to Cape Mendicino, California in the south – and was the first to adapt the area to follow ecological boundaries over preexisting political ones. In his words, they covered all the land and “falling waters” from the continental divide at the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and he viewed Cascadia as something which transcends political – even geographic – definitions; it is more an ideological notion rooted in bioregionalism and a respect for the environment.


Though honestly it would be fine with me whether the term was coined and/or popularized by someone from the area or someone inspired by our beautiful region.

[Generic Other]

126. And the old Indian TB Hospital in Tacoma was renamed Cascadia 1959

when it was turned into a Juvenile Detention Center in Tacoma for 20 years. Not gonna say anything about possible ill omen in choosing this name for a new nation.

[suffragette]

128. Didn't know that

Good point

[DrunkenBoat]

129. Yeah, & it was used as the name for a town in the 1890s & lots of other things. So what?

The word "cascadia" has been in intermittent use nearly since the discovery of the area.

I was talking of the use for the name of a combined bio-region + political entity.

[iemitsu]

132. i thought you said up-thread

that the term was invented by an east coast transplant to california, who, according to your link, was not even born until 1929.
now you say it has been used intermittently since the 1890s?
a little loose with dates for someone who is such a stickler for how others use the term near.

[Generic Other]

134. At this point I am just trying to understand why someone new to DU

would spend two days baiting me on a union thread I started when I already put him on ignore to end the conversation. What is the purpose? It looks like the way scabs would act if they wanted to disrupt and discredit the actions of the union.

:wtf:

[iemitsu]

137. or maybe someone

who wants to run up their post count to appear more august than their actual presence warrants.

[DrunkenBoat]

145. In point of fact I actually know what's going on here in Longview where I live

and with people I know personally. Longview-Kelso is a small town & I'm 4th generation here. I went to school with or otherwise know a lot of the people on the picket line, and I know what's going on a lot better than anything you read in the Tacoma paper, including the politics involved in our local paper's reporting.

I posted a simple correction of fact to the article you posted: Longview is not "near" Seattle; it's much nearer to Portland. There was nothing personal or attacking about my post. I posted it because people from other regions probably wouldn't know where Longview was -- inland a bit, right on the columbia river across from rainier oregon, about 49 miles north of portland oregon. With a deep-river port that can take ocean cargo.

You for some reason felt you had to butt in & comment that "we" (Washingtonians) considered everything on the west side close to Seattle.

No, "we" don't. Maybe *you* in Tacoma do, since you're only 35 miles away, but *we're* 130 miles away, & *we* don't think seattle is near us. Corvallis Oregon is about as "near" as seattle.

And *we* don't consider Longview to be part of an indistinguishable blur between big cities. *We* don't consider everything after Centralia to be "Longview" because *we* actually know people and have history in all those little towns & back-roads between Centralia & Longview.

*We* don't live 'near' Tacoma either. *We* are nearer Portland than Tacoma.

From downtown Longview *we* can be in Oregon in under 10 minutes. People here commute to Portland to work and shop. "We" are oriented toward Oregon, not Seattle, and all your remarks equating Portland with scabs & Seattle/Tacoma with non-scabs were just dumb and demonstrated how little you actually know about the Operators union, which is actually the house union of a Federal Way company & HQ'd in Gladstone oregon, with membership in Oregon & SW Washington as far up as Federal Way. And in fact *we* think there might have been some ringers amongst those longshoremen from up north who came to 'help'.

You know why? Because their 'help' arrived the day after a judge quashed EGT's bid to get an order to stop the pickets. But because of the 'violence', the judge put out an injunction against the union the next day. So the help wasn't very helpful, in point of fact.

And in fact Portland & Vancouver longshore were supporting the actions here long before seattle/tacoma was. You know why? Personal connections.

Your comments were unnecessary & stupid, like the post you just made calling me a scab.

And in fact it's *you* who have been baiting me, and *you* who called in your friend to help you do so. And *you* who are continuing to bait me, despite having announced to anyone who would listen that you have put me on ignore.

[Generic Other]

147. *we* think there might have been some ringers amongst those longshoremen from up north

WOW. You finally make your position clear. And you think I am the problem in this thread.

I took you off ignore to try one more time to ask you to lighten up. We are all on the same side here. Or so I thought. I was prepared to apologize for acting silly over who is near and who is far.

Yes, we yanked your territorial chain. And you are correct. I speed on I-5 but could never reach Longview in the time I said I could. As I said earlier, when the thread went south on me, I just got silly.

I decided to take you off ignore and offer an olive branch as it was so clear no one really cared who "owned" bragging rights about the action in Longview. I personally feel like the longshoremen there are my union brothers and sisters. They walked off the job in support of anti-war protesters in the past. They have expressed solidarity with our fellow union workers to the north.

As for you, you have now made a very interesting accusation against the longshoremen from the north who came to the aid of their fellow union members. You have accused them of being "ringers." What proof do you have that this is so other than your animosity toward everything WASHINGTON?

I don't think I am quite ready to offer an olive branch after all.

[iemitsu]

65. i thought portland was in maine.

is there one on the west coast too?

[Generic Other]

67. bad baD!

I used to live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We never said we lived near Portland either.

[DrunkenBoat]

84. Yeah, & it's more than double the size.

[stevedeshazer]

14. I know Longview well. It's as gritty and blue-collar as they come.

The ILWU won't give up.

Here's a good article from The Daily News, the local newspaper in Longview: http://tdn.com/news/local/article_e98046a8-da30-11e0-bd16-001cc4c002e0.html

Longshoremen storm EGT terminal, release grain from rail cars

Hundreds of longshoremen and their supporters stormed the EGT grain terminal at the Port of Longview early Thursday morning, dumping grain from train cars, smashing windows on a guard shack and leaving six security guards feeling trapped and fearing for their safety, the Longview Police Department said.

The protesters, who rushed the $200 million terminal around 4:30 a.m., yanked a security guard from his car and drove the vehicle into a ditch, authorities said. They also cut the brake lines of train cars, according to Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha. Police estimated 400 people were involved.

Initial law enforcement reports suggested the protesters held the security guards hostage. Investigators, however, later learned that the six guards inside feared they would be injured or killed if they stepped into crowd of protesters roaring past a guard shack, Duscha said. He said the guards were unable to leave the area for about two hours.

By the time law enforcement arrived en force, the protesters had scattered, he said.


Read more: http://tdn.com/news/local/article_e98046a8-da30-11e0-bd16-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1XQGZkHu2

[Generic Other]

16. Pictures from the Tacoma paper

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/09/08/1814440/longshoremen-storm-wash-state.html

[stevedeshazer]

20. Thanks, those photos are great.

+1

[iemitsu]

71. the photos are great.

i am especially impressed by the one where the cop is choking a protester.
the sort of photo that will keep me from sleeping well at night. it reminds me of how i used to feel, as a kid, after watching nazi war films.

[intheflow]

21. Love that last shot!

I want that t-shirt!!

[Buns_of_Fire]

45. Interesting touch, attaching the protest sign to a baseball bat.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea, I'm not saying it's a good idea, it's just... interesting. (And it certainly prepares you for any eventuality.)

[Occulus]

64. These guys know their labor history.

Let me ask you this: what do you think would have happened to the men working at that Massey mine- the one that killed all those miners last year- if they had all, one day, decided that no, they in fact were not going to subject themselves to those unsafe working conditions any longer?

What do you think would have happened to them if they had gone on strike- and more, disabled or destroyed the unsafe equipment that eventually killed them instead?

Do you think the mining management would have sat them down across a table? Hell no- the particular lubeless fuck that operates that mine would have hired some goons to come in and 'take care of' the troublemakers. This, in 2011. But it's a dead certainty.

These Longshoremen are in the same boat and they bloody well know it. The photo in question really doesn't surprise me all that much- and good on him for being prepared. I can tell you this much- I wouldn't want to face any of them in a street fight. Something tells me they would win.

[lumpy]

138. Love the NO WISCONSIN HERE sign. For sure!

V

[robdogbucky]

17. The ILWU has a contract, are they supposed to see it trashed?

ILWU Defies Court Order in Longview, Wash., Picketing

...EGT has completed construction of the $200 million facility but has yet to ship any grain. EGT earlier this year began negotiating with the ILWU to man the terminal, but later cut off negotiations and signed an agreement with General Construction Co. to staff the terminal. General Construction contracts with a different union.

The ILWU, which represents longshoremen at most West Coast ports, has a contract with the Port of Longview to represent workers there, the union stated. The ILWU has been demonstrating at the EGT terminal since July. Union protestors in July blocked a BNSF Railway train from bringing grain to the terminal for a test run. BNSF has not sent any trains to the EGT terminal since then.

The NLRB joined the fray last week, charging union picketers have engaged in harassment and misconduct.

The labor board went to court for a temporary restraining order. Judge Leighton granted the TRO, which only lasts for 10 days. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, when the judge will determine if the restraining order should be made permanent...


http://www.joc.com/labor/ilwu-continue-strike-despite-r...




That sounds like simple breach to me. Why is any judge enabling the company to trash their contract?

[pnorman]

30. "to staff the terminal. General Construction contracts with a different union."

Does anyone know just which "different" union is involved here? Historically, it was frequently the Teamsters who shamelessly raided with "Sweetheartr Agreements. Another choice might be Mike Sacco's SIU.

[DrunkenBoat]

37. The ILWU believes it has the right to work at the facility, both by tradition and under a lease

agreement that EGT signed with the Port of Longview. EGT officials have instead hired workers from the Union of Operating Engineers Local 701, based in Oregon. The matter is expected to be settled in federal court next year.

Read more: http://tdn.com/news/local/article_e98046a8-da30-11e0-bd16-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1XR8SuJmu

[pnorman]

40. "Operating Engineers"! I should have guessed!

This goes back to the "Aristocracy Of Labor" concept of Samuel Gompers, and is the primary reason that the CIO was founded in the Thirties. But historically, the Teamsters and the SIU frequently also played that role.

[robdogbucky]

18. Int’l Transport Workers’ Federation condemns detention of ILWU president

Int’l Transport Workers’ Federation condemns detention of ILWU president
September 8, 2011 1:15 pm


8 September 2011: The ITF has condemned the detention yesterday of ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union) president Bob McEllrath while attending a protest in Vancouver, Washington, USA. He and other ILWU members were defending the job rights of workers at a new grain export terminal at the port of Longview, whose owners, EGT, appear to be trying to ignore the 80 year history of ILWU membership at the port by recruiting non-ILWU members – in defiance, the ILWU believes, of its contract with the port.

Bob McEllrath was then released in the face of protests from his fellow dockers, among reported threats from the ‘authorities that the army would be brought in next time’.

ITF general secretary David Cockroft commented:“Bob was detained for standing up for the rights of his members. That’s not acceptable in the modern world. We call on the company and all its stakeholders to halt their provocative plans before they take this conflict out of control.”

ITF president Paddy Crumlin said: “EGT are playing with fire, and they know it. They need to take a big step back and think about what they are trying to force through, then see sense and talk to the ILWU about how to resolve this issue before it escalates even further.”

http://www.ilwu.org/?p=2932

[robdogbucky]

19. It shouldn't be a crime to fight for jobs in this country

Workers volunteer to “put their bodies on the line” in effort to save good jobs in Longview, WA
September 7, 2011 7:43 pm

Hundreds of port workers stood on railroad tracks today at 4pm, blocking a train carrying grain to a foreign-owned loading facility in Longview, Washington. Workers took action to protest the failure by big grain companies to honor agreements with the local community to provide good jobs in Longview.

“Everyone came to the tracks on their own free will to stand up for justice and protect good jobs in this community, said ILWU President Bob McEllrath, who stood with the volunteers on Wednesday afternoon. “It shouldn’t be a crime to fight for good jobs in America.”

Police in riot gear charged the group of peaceful protesters, which included women and children, injuring several in the process. When volunteers stood their ground, police retreated and the train was backed-off. As of 6pm, it was unclear if the BNSF Railroad would continue to attempt another delivery or stand down.

The controversial grain terminal is owned and operated by EGT – a consortium of companies that includes North America, South Korea-based STX Pan Ocean and Japan-based Itochu Corporation...

http://www.ilwu.org/?p=2927

[Generic Other]

24. I am surprised that on DU how many are so quick to blame the longshoremen

Considering their history, why would anyone think they would give in without a fight?

<snip>

Their demands were simple: a union-controlled hiring hall that would end all forms of discrimination and favoritism in hiring and equalize work opportunities; a coastwise contract, with all workers on the Pacific Coast receiving the same basic wages and working under the same protected hours and conditions; and a six-hour work day with a fair hourly wage.

The shipowners consistently refused each demand, determined to divide and destroy the unions in each port. The members of both longshore and seafaring unions voted to strike in May 1934. In response, the employers mobilized private industry, state and local governments, and police agencies to smash the unions and their picket lines.

The ranks held firm throughout the historic strike. They held up against unprovoked police violence, and withstood attempts by the ILA national leaders to cave in to employer demands for a return to business as usual. They elected new regional leaders to push the strike forward in defiance of both the employers and the ILA officials. Prominent among the new faces was a San Francisco longshoreman named Harry Bridges, who was later elected president of the ILA’s Pacific Coast District and then president of the ILWU.

In July of 1934, when it was clear the longshoremen and their seafaring allies were not going to give up their struggle for justice on the waterfront, the employers decided to open the struck piers using guns, goon squads, tear gas, and the National Guard. They provoked pitched battles in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and San Pedro. Hundreds of strikers – and bystanders – were arrested and injured. On July 5, know ever after as Bloody Thursday, two workers were shot and killed. A total of six workers were shot or beaten to death on the West Coast by police or company goons during the course of the strike.

<Snip>

http://www.ilwu.org/?page_id=814

[Brigid]

87. Wow.

You won't find this in any high school history textbook. Just like you won't find the 1937 Flint sit-down strike, the steel strikes of the 1950s, The Molly Maguires, the Knights of Labor, the Battle of Blair Mountain, or much of anything else about the history of the labor movement in this country. Can't have the peasantry getting ideas now, can we? :eyes:

[iemitsu]

107. officials certainly don't want our children knowing

much about the history of labor struggles in this country.
there are, of course, many reasons that the uber-class wouldn't want americans to have a clear understanding of how or why our economy works (or doesn't work) but i think the lesson, from this history, that they are most afraid of is that worker solidarity changes the balance of power.
when we stand together it becomes harder for that class to abuse us.

[TeamsterDem]

26. The "violence" is that of the company, pitting worker against worker for wages. That's violent. nt

[coalition_unwilling]

32. I hope this is prelude to a nationwide general strike. There are way

more people in the working class than there are in the ruling class, even when its lackeys are included.

[Fuddnik]

39. +1000

Way overdue!

[Generic Other]

43. LA TIMES: Longshoremen in Washington walk off the job

Reporting from Seattle—
Hundreds of angry longshoremen walked off the job at ports in the Pacific Northwest on Thursday, effectively shutting down loading and unloading operations in a wildcat labor action that turned into a raucous confrontation — with union members storming a grain export terminal and holding security guards at bay for hours.

Shipping terminals in Seattle, Tacoma and Everett were idled as workers joined the protest in the town of Longview, where police said union members rushed into a contested loading area in the pre-dawn hours, cutting brake lines on a train full of grain, pushing a security vehicle into a ditch and dumping part of the grain cargo off the train.

The protest followed a clash with police Wednesday in which longshoremen blocked railroad tracks near Vancouver, Wash., to prevent the grain from reaching the export terminal, 45 miles west. Union leaders contend the terminal should be staffed with members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-union-protest-20110909,0,2369812.story

[Generic Other]

46. Ports in state brace for more action

Washington ports braced for possible union protests today (Friday) after Longshore union workers shut down docks throughout the state in sympathy with union protesters at a Longview grain terminal.

The wildcat sympathy strikes halted most activity at the Northwest’s two biggest ports, Tacoma and Seattle, Thursday, when longshore members failed to show up for work.

<...>

The Longshore union contends that EGT’s deal with the Port of Longview requires the terminal to be union, and tradition and coastwide practice says that union should be the Longshore.

Union members, who provide labor at all the other West Coast grain export terminals, argue that if EGT is able to break the pattern, other terminal operators may be tempted to reject the union. New contracts are due to be negotiated soon with other terminal operators.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/09/09/1815672/ports-in-state-brace-for-more.html#ixzz1XSwc0vwV

[LadyInAZ]

47. wow... it only took us 2.5 years to act

needs to happen on a larger scale. to restore jobs to american people.

[butterfly77]

55. Kick,kick,kick &recommended!

What no video?

[killbotfactory]

62. Seems like businesses in the US rarely honor contracts made with unions

It's easier to break it and make the union look like unreasonable shitheels when they react to being fucked over.

People in this part of the world have a history of not abiding that kind of crap.

[Claudia Jones]

75. no injuries, no arrests...

...and the sheriff retracted his "hostages" claim.

Yet we have people right here - Democrats (!!??) - decrying "union thuggery."

[Luminous Animal]

83. Zombie Reagan rules our world.

[NNN0LHI]

90. Think we have all Democrats on this anonymous website?

Been here for over ten years and and I can guarantee we don't have all Democrats on this site.

Not by a long shot.

Skinner will be fumigating the place pretty soon.

Don

[Generic Other]

101. I don't care what you call yourself as long as you don't act like a Republican

And that goes double on DU.

We've been here a long time now, haven't we NNNOLHI? Did you ever think when you first signed on how many times you would bang your head on your keyboard?

[lumpy]

140. Damn, I do hope that fumigation happens soon.

Getting old.

[Hugabear]

81. This needs to happen nationwide. The time for sitting idly is over, ACTION is needed.

If it be violent action against the mega-corporations and ultra-rich, so be it. Hate to say it, but sometimes violence is the only language these people will listen to.

[socialist_n_TN]

97. Anything that is effective in defense of the working class

WILL BE ILLEGAL. That's the way the capitalist system is set up. And you're right. Until the exploiters are scared, they don't back down.

I applaud the ILWU. I wrote about an earlier dust up here:http://www.workerspower.net/ilwu-battling-back-on-longview-ports

[Obamanaut]

89. This looks a lot like many descriptions one reads in articles about

acts of vandaliam: "...carrying baseball bats, smashing windows, damaging rail cars and dumping tons of grain from the cars...."

If it were a 'flash mob', or events following a losing football game, or some such, it would be called vandalism.

[iemitsu]

108. perhaps a better way to think of this event would be

to compare it to the invasion of your homeland by a mercenary army who wanted to displace you and threaten the existence of your family. would carrying a baseball bat to defend your home turf sound like vandalism to you then?
i know that americans have grown used to the idea that exploiting others for our own gain is acceptable and we are told that when we invade other's territory that we are there to improve their lives but these notions are in conflict with basic human rights (and reality).
american workers should not just step aside when greedy corporations try to replace them with mercenaries, especially when it is done in our own towns.

[Name removed]

95. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Shagbark Hickory]

98. Who would've thought the next riots would be coming from seattle?! n/t

[Generic Other]

99. Are you trying to make that guy upthread go nuts again?

If so, carry on! :)

[Shagbark Hickory]

100. Ooopsie. n/t

[iemitsu]

102. hey, you talking about me?

you're just lucky you're no where near longview or you'd really see nuts.

[Generic Other]

103. I am proud to be a union worker, activist, and defender

as I know you are. We are being pushed to the edge. And the time may come when it is necessary for us all to push back.

I know for a fact you are about to vote Monday on whether to go out on strike. It aint fun. And it aint clean. But dammit, I stand shoulder to shoulder with you, my friend.

[iemitsu]

104. thank you generic.

we will do what we need to do monday.
i'm glad for your support.

[socialist_n_TN]

105. Bump. Because this is important

nm

[Generic Other]

109. Another reason to praise the ILWU and why the uberclass hates them

The ILWU is seen by many as the standard by which many unions should operate: pay is high, and benefits and retirement are exceptional compared to the rest of the US workforce. They have a decent democratic process and are on the low end of hierarchical labor models.

At the ILWU's 33rd International Convention, the union that refused to load ships to Japan in solidarity with the people of China, whom Japan just attacked prior to WWII, the union who refused to load military ships heading for Vietnam during our invasion of that country, the union who refused to load ships heading for aparthied South Africa, the union who shut down the ports for a day in solidarity with Mumia Abu Jamal, the union who threatened to shut down the ports in solidarity with the prisoners in Seattle during the WTO protests, passed no less than four resolutions condemning the Bush Administration and calling for the immediate end of the war Iraq.

http://www.olywip.org/site/page/article/2006/07/06.html

[Generic Other]

110. 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.

http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20110910131057170

[Romulox]

111. But my PRIUS is coming through that port! SOLIDARITY (for everybody except autoworkers)!!!!! nt

[Generic Other]

112. Wouldn't solidarity for autoworkers mean buying an American car?

I agree with the notion we need less Walmart trinkets. I remember being taught in school that the Dutch bought the land NYC stands on for beads and wampum. I guess China has done the same and now owns the rest of us.

[Romulox]

115. You would think so, but (somehow) it's much more complicated than that...

"Solidarity!1!1!!" is generally understood to mean "Support MY union", here on DU; several of our leading "labor activists" are also Toyota enthusiasts.

It's kind of like the sweet mystery of life, I guess... :shrug:

[Brickbat]

117. Heh.

:thumbsup:

[Generic Other]

118. Here's VIDEO of a large vehicle HITTING the strikers in August

August 29, 2011: This disturbing video shows an unidentified driver plowing a large vehicle through a nonviolent worker demonstration at the EGT grain facility at the Port of Longview, Washington. The car appears to speed up as it strikes two of the workers. One of the workers is pushed several feet as the car continues moving, and the driver doesn't slow down or render aid. The driver of the vehicle has not been arrested for assaulting the workers, for failing to render aid or for leaving the scene of an accident.

EGT is a joint venture of Bunge, STX Pan Ocean, and Itochu. EGT has contracted with General Construction Company, employer of Operating Engineers Local 701, to do the work that is the long-established jurisdiction of the men and women of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 21.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zrK9LL9UyM&feature=related

[Brickbat]

122. Fuck the company, and fuck the scabs.

[Generic Other]

123. Kinda explains the anger, no?

I am pissed off all over again after seeing that!

[Brickbat]

130. Believe me, I fully understand union anger first-hand.

[Generic Other]

141. I have been disheartened by all the vile comments I have seen posted

on news articles, videos, and blogs about unions. It's as ugly if not worse than the attacks on the left. I fear that kind of anger. But I am ready to fight back with the truth when I can.

[lumpy]

143. What's the dope on the driver of the car who rammed into

the workers? Has the driver been identified etc?

[Generic Other]

144. No charges no arrest nothing

And it looked very very deliberate to me!

[suffragette]

121. Thank you for continuing to report on this

K&R

[Generic Other]

124. I feel angry that no one expresses outrage when the union is attacked

but everyone bashes the ILWU when they hit back

[suffragette]

125. I agree with you

And this longshoreman's daughter stands with the ILWU and with you in support for them.

As does the ILA:

http://www.ilaunion.org/ila_ilwu.html

The ILA Joins In Solidarity With ILWU And Condemns Attacks on Its President and Member-Protesters
9/8/2011
The International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO joins in solidarity with our Sisters and Brothers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in condemning the attack by police in riot gear on hundreds of ILWU member-protesters in Washington State and the detention of ILWU President Bob McEllrath.

ILWU President McEllrath and hundreds of his members were peacefully protesting at a railroad tracks yesterday, blocking a train carrying grain to a foreign-owned loading facility in Longview, Washington.

"The ILA condemns this aggression against union workers seeking to protect the work that they have performed for over 80 years in the Port of Longview," said ILA President Harold J. Daggett. "They were peacefully protesting the failure by big grain companies to honor ILWU agreements," President Daggett continued. "I stand with ILWU President in proclaiming: 'It shouldn't be a crime to fight for good jobs in America'."

ILA President Harold Daggett pledged the ILA's full support in this struggle.

"The ILA stands with ILWU and will offer any help it can to make certain ILWU members rights and jobs are protected," added ILA President Daggett.

[iemitsu]

142. and i too stand with the ILWA and you and generic.

thanks you for your support and for the copy of the ILAs letter condemning the attacks on the longshoremen in longview.
and thanks too to the commies down-thread.
we all need to stand united.

[socialist_n_TN]

127. Not everyone Generic

Not everyone. Us commies APPLAUD anytime the working class hits back.

Fighting back is our raison d'etre. It's what we ARE!

[Generic Other]

148. Waterfront Workers History Project Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies

I am sharing this link to ILWU history. It was written by Dr. Ronald Magden who has been a personal mentor of mine much of my life and was my father-in-law's best friend.

Since someone upthread has thrown an ugly accusation that some of the ILWU locals from Tacoma and Seattle were "ringers" who came down to Longview to cause trouble and discredit the union, I wanted to make sure DUers could see what a long and respected history these men and women have. They never have run from a fight.

http://depts.washington.edu/dock/magdenArchive.shtml