Transport Workers Solidarity Committee

Solidarity Stories An Oral History of the ILWU: New Book
http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/SCHSOL.html

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University of Washington

Solidarity Stories
An Oral History of the ILWU
HARVEY SCHWARTZ

PUBLISHED: June 2009
SUBJECT LISTING: History, Labor Studies
BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: 352 pp., 50 illus., notes, glossary, index, 6 x 9 in.
CONTENTS

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, born out of the 1934 West Coast maritime and San Francisco general strikes under the charismatic leadership of Harry Bridges, has been known from the start for its strong commitment to democracy, solidarity, and social justice. In this collection of firsthand narratives, union leaders and rank-and-file workers - from the docks of Pacific Coast ports to the fields of Hawaii to bookstores in Portland, Oregon - talk about their lives at work, on the picket line, and in the union.

Workers recall the back-breaking, humiliating conditions on the waterfront before they organized, the tense days of the 1934 strike, the challenges posed by mechanization, the struggle against racism and sexism on the job, and their activism in other social and political causes. Their stories testify to the union's impact on the lives of its members and also to its role in larger events, ranging from civil rights battles at home to the fights against fascism and apartheid abroad.

Whereas, the ILWU has been attempting to organize Blue Diamond Almond Workers for 2 years, and

Whereas, almonds are the largest export in the port of Oakland totaling some $1.4 billion dollars, and

Whereas, 70% of California almonds are shipped overseas with Pacific Rim nations receiving much of that cargo, and

Whereas, the owners have been using massive anti-union tactics like firing, intimidating workers, and threatening the loss of benefits, and

Whereas even the Bush-controlled NLRB has found Blue Diamond in violation of labor laws and those violations are arrogantly practiced today without penalty,

Therefore be it resolved that the Blue Diamond Almond workers will only get their just demand for a union of their choice by solidarity actions, and

Therefore Be It Finally Resolved that this international conference of transport workers goes on record calling for concrete acts of solidarity to achieve a union victory.