In an ongoing struggle that has lasted
for more than a year in Washington state, about 500 union
longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview Sept. 7, cut brake lines on
a train and dumped grain at the EGT terminal. Longshoremen in Tacoma
and Seattle engaged in wildcat strikes the next day.
These actions follow months of militant
struggle, as longshoremen have blocked trains outside the new EGT
grain terminal at the Port of Longview.
As hundreds blocked the train, 38 were
arrested and riot-equipped police beat and pepper-sprayed protesters.
Among those present at the demonstration was International Longshore
and Warehouse Union International President Robert McEllrath.
What issues are behind this intense
fight-back struggle?
ILWU Local 21 has worked the Port of
Longview for over 70 years, and is the only union working grain in
the region. On Sept. 15, the ILWU signed an agreement with the
Pacific Northwest Grain Elevator Operators, which is made up of the
operators of six Northwest grain export terminals located in Seattle,
Tacoma and Vancouver, Wash., and in Portland, Ore. EGT is not
included in this agreement.
Based on their experience, the ILWU has
developed important safety procedures related to working with grain.
Jennifer Sargent of ILWU said, “Grain silos are very, very
dangerous places to work. It’s important to have good safety
procedures. There are falls, there are explosions, there are
engulfments—people can essentially suffocate in the grain.”
That all changed once EGT Development,
a multinational joint venture, entered a contractual agreement with
the Port of Longview. Under the agreement, EGT secured a favorable
lease and taxpayer subsidies in exchange for building a grain
terminal at the port. The company chose to ignore the union labor
contract between the port and ILWU 21 and attempted to use non-union
labor at the grain terminal. This decision led to a series of
protests, including a June 3 rally of more than 1,000 regional union
workers and supporters outside of EGT’s headquarters in Portland,
Ore. A July 11 protest held on EGT property resulted in over 100
arrests.
Given that the EGT terminal represents
a comparatively modest 50 jobs, ILWU 21 could have abandoned the
struggle. In this time of “shared sacrifice,” workers and unions
across the nation are enjoined to do just that; to submit, to
sacrifice and to be grateful for the scraps that the bosses
condescend to provide to us.
Rather, ILWU 21 chose to sustain and
amplify the struggle, with over 100 protesters blocking access to EGT
property from July 22 to July 25, resulting in the temporary closure
of the grain terminal. Only police escorts for scab employees
permitted EGT to resume operations.
The company then announced that it would hire a unionized
subcontractor to run the terminal. General Construction Co., a
subsidiary of Kiewit, would operate the terminal with union members
from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701 from
nearby Portland, Ore. The move was condemned by both the Oregon
AFL-CIO and the Washington State Labor Council as an attempt to pit
union members against each other.
On Sept. 1, a federal judge issued a
temporary, 10-day restraining order prohibiting ILWU 21 from
effective picketing of the EGT terminal. U.S. District Judge Ronald
Leighton issued a second injunction on Sept. 8, threatening to hold
the union in civil contempt for continuing to militantly defend their
jobs.
Law enforcement: agents of EGT
Cowlitz county law enforcement, acting
in the interests of EGT, launched a media campaign that made
headlines, claiming that the ILWU “rushed” the police, threw
objects and held security and law enforcement “hostage” the night
the grain was spilled. In a letter, Leal Sundet, Coast Committeeman of the ILWU Coast
Longshore Division, said to Sheriff Mark Nelson, “Your
sensationalized media campaign to mischaracterize union members as
lawless criminal aggressor thugs is unprofessional, unwarranted, and
inflammatory.”
Since the events of Sept. 7, local
Cowlitz county law enforcement has been arresting individual members
of the ILWU who were identified as having stood on the railroad
tracks. Meanwhile, according to Sundet’s letter, local law
enforcement has declined to pursue an individual who was “caught on
video purposefully driving through and striking with his vehicle,
peaceful picketers as he entered EGT’s Longview facility.”
Sundet further stated: “The driver
struck picketers, failed to render aid, and left the scene of the
accident. One picketer was taken to the hospital as a result. Cowlitz
County officials, who reviewed the video, to date have declined to
prosecute the driver, instead arresting a picketer who allegedly
dented another vehicle with his knee. He was immediately charged with
a felony.”
In response to sensationalized arrests
of union members, some 200 members of ILWU attempted to turn
themselves in en masse at the Cowlitz County Hall of Justice in Kelso
Sept. 16. “We’re here. If you want us, come and get us,”
shouted ILWU Local 21 President Dan Coffman. (Longshore Shipping
News.)
Local law enforcement did nothing, and the ILWU members left the area
after waiting for 30 minutes.
ILWU shows the way
The ILWU has a long and proud history
of militant and progressive struggle. While always fierce in defense
of their rights as workers, the ILWU has also gone beyond their own
immediate self-interest to struggle on behalf of the working class as
a whole. For instance, in 1983, longshoremen in the San Francisco Bay
Area refused to unload cargo from South Africa in support of the
boycott against apartheid. In 2008, ILWU longshoremen held a one-day
strike against the Iraq War.
However, there is no reason why the
ILWU should be unique among workers in the United States.
During the course of this depression,
it has become even more clear that workers in the United States are
under attack. The endless catalog of corporate mergers, layoffs,
consolidations and assaults on organized labor expose the true nature
of class relations. These events, combined with chronic high
unemployment and a record number of people in poverty, are smashing
the idea that so-called “middle class” workers are anything other
than a relatively privileged sector whose privileges can be revoked
in order to increase profit.
The struggles of the ILWU in Longview
point to the comprehensive measures needed to bring us true freedom.
We commend ILWU 21 for their uncompromising stand against EGT’s
union-busting and demand that all criminal charges against ILWU 21
union members and supporters be dismissed immediately.
