In a powerful display of solidarity, longshore workers across the East Coast shut down major ports to protest the Del Monte Fruit company’s use of non-union labor. The strikes, which were not officially sanctioned, affected the ports of Philadelphia, New York-New Jersey and Baltimore.
Del Monte is planning on switching to a non-union pier in Philadelphia controlled by the Holt Logistics company, costing longshore workers 200 to 300 union jobs. Although they were not directly affected, workers at other ports understood the value of unity. John Blom, a member of the International Longshoremen’s Association in Baltimore, said, “If we don’t stick together, we’ll fall together.” (labornotes.com, Sept. 29)
The actions forced shipping companies to the negotiating table, and the charges against workers who defied a court injunction against the strike seem to have been dropped. The longshore workers on the East Coast courageously proved that, even during a period of deep economic crisis, poor and working people can win if we stand together.
