By DAVID MACARARY - Counterpunch, May 2, 2008

On Thursday, May 1, the ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union) staged a one-day (one shift, actually) walkout as a protest against the U.S. military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The shutdown affected ports up and down the West Coast, from San Pedro, California, to Seattle, Washington.

Although the PMA (Pacific Maritime Association) had warned the ILWU leadership that an “unauthorized” strike such as this was illegal, and that any rank-and-file dockworker who participated could be punished with a fine, suspension or even termination, the one-shift shutdown went off as planned and was deemed a resounding success. Thousands of workers defied management and failed to show up for the morning shift, resulting in port traffic coming to a standstill.

Despite the threats, no one really expects the port authorities to take any disciplinary action against ILWU members. In fact, if any union member is even wrist-slapped, it will be genuine shock. There are two reasons for this.

Lawrence J. Maushard - May 2, 2008, posted at Portland Indymedia

An unprecedented display of labor muscle pumped up the peace movement yesterday when an estimated 25,000 union longshore workers took May Day off for an antiwar shutdown of all West Coast ports, including the ports of Portland and Vancouver.

The protest by International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) longshore workers momentarily froze the vibrant Pacific rim trade - autos, appliances, manufactured goods, foodstuffs and more - in a rare coordinated display by a major American union fed up with the US war in Iraq and the trillions of dollars spent in that effort.

"It's a war that started with a lie. If I went to the courts and told a lie, they'd lock me up," Jerry Lawrence, 59, of Portland, a rank-and-file union member said on May Day. "Now why the hell didn't they lock Bush up or kick him outta office? I blame my senators for not stepping up."

The 27-year longshoreman with ILWU Portland Local 8 was attending a union-sponsored mid-day riverside ceremony on the East Bank Esplanade just north of the Burnside Bridge to mark the union's antiwar stance. About 150 union and peace supporters crowded on the narrow floating docks to hear a few speeches and drop more than 800 yellow carnations in the Willamette river in solemn remembrance of the US deaths in Iraq (one flower for each 5 dead American soldiers now totaling about 4,050).

By Fred Williams - World Socialist Web Site, 2 May 2008

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) carried out an eight-hour work stoppage at West Coast ports on May 1 to demand an end to the war in Iraq.

The work action halted activity at 29 ports from San Diego, California to Washington State. According to both the ILWU and the employers’ organization, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), 25,000 dockworkers represented by the union did not report to work for the first shift on Thursday, shutting down the country’s principal gateway for cargo container traffic from the Far East. In the course of a typical work shift, some 10,000 containers are loaded and unloaded from ships docked at West Coast ports.

Under the slogan, “No Peace, No Work,” the “work holiday” was called on the traditional day of international workers’ solidarity as a demonstration of opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A resolution passed by the union in February called for an end to the occupation of Iraq and for the troops to be brought home immediately.

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the ILWU,

On behalf of myself and my congressional campaign, and in memory of my son Casey, I want to thank you for the principled and dignified action that you are taking on May 1st.

The exemplary resolution passed by your Longshore Caucus, and your decision to stop work on the West Coast docks on May 1, 2008 points the way for all of us who struggle to end the disastrous war and occupation of Iraq. This illegal and immoral war has been forced on us by the Republican administration, and has been funded enthusiastically by both the Democratic and Republican parties in Congress. The Democratic Party, under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi, continues a policy of full cooperation with and financial support for the Bush administration's war. While many Democrats will utter words that are critical of the highly unpopular war, their party simply will not use its political power to take any action to stop the carnage.

The ILWU has shown that it is an independent workers' union, morally superior to the Democratic Party in every respect. Once again, the Longshoremen of the West Coast are demonstrating that it is possible to oppose the war-mongering corporate politicians, and prevent them from dividing and conquering the movements of the workers and peoples. You Longshoremen have kept this powerful and noble tradition alive on their waterfront since the 1930s.

It was a sunny day, right after lunch, when all hell broke loose for two longshoremen, sitting in their car, about to return to work.

Jason Ruffin and Aaron Harrison were approached by private security guards who demanded to search their vehicle.

The men asked to see the maritime security (or MARSEC) regulations, and one of them phoned the local business agent to try to clear up the matter.

Rebuffed at their search attempt, and angry that the two men didn't immediately acquiesce in this illegal and unwarranted search, the security guards called the West Sacramento cops.

While on the phone, both men were attacked, assaulted, dragged from the car, maced and jailed by the cops, without provocation, and charged with trespassing.

Trespassing -- at the job! Previously, the guys showed their Port ID, and the driver showed his driver's license!

They were also charged with resisting arrest!

If these were just average folks, perhaps it never would've made the news; but they were union members of the ILWU, the historically militant International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 10.

Local 10 didn't take this lying down. Along with Local 34, the ILWU has called for union protests against this naked, unprovoked brutality.

The Hawaii Superferry presents a classic case of how not to do business in Hawaii. Superferry's lack of planning and violation of the Hawaii Environmental Protection Act has created a public debacle, inconvenienced its customers and put Hawaii's environment at risk.

Three years ago the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and Kahului Harbor Coalition asked the Hawaii Superferry and the Lingle administration to complete an environmental review of the Superferry. Unknown environmental and public safety risks, concerned neighbor island communities and a clear reading of the law demanded it.

The review would have occurred while other planning proceeded. The administration and Superferry corporation, however, decided to gamble and chose to skip this mandatory environmental disclosure process. A unanimous Supreme Court decision -- announced just hours after oral argument -- called their bluff.

Then, despite the decision from Hawaii's highest court, Superferry executives decided to roll the dice again and start service early. Again, they lost when a judge ordered them to cease service to Maui.

Editor's note - The opinions of the author do not necessarily agree with or endorse the views expressed on our site. We include the article as an example of class struggle among transport workers.

BRENT JANG - Globe and Mail Update

In his four years at the throttle, Hunter Harrison has revolutionized how CN Rail does business, driving productivity, boosting the stock price by 150 per cent and making $56-million in 2005 for himself in his pursuit of a “precision railroad.”

Two years ago, Mr. Harrison published the term in a glossy book titled How We Work and Why, intended to be a Bible for Canadian National Railway Co. employees to follow and the source of inspiration at his so-called Hunter Camps.

At the two-day, motivational retreats for groups of managers and union leaders, the CN chief executive officer often opens the event by stressing the need to challenge conventional wisdom and being on alert to become more efficient.

Mr. Harrison, 62, can speak at the Hunter Camps for two hours without any text, personally preaching the importance of doggedly seeking to be more competitive and constantly looking for improvements.

San Francisco has been a solidly union town since the historic 1934 maritime strike of sailors and longshoremen which turned into a citywide General Strike after two strikers were killed by police. The strikers' slogan then was, "An injury to one is an injury to all." Now, every July 5, "Bloody Thursday," West Coast ports close from the Canadian to the Mexican border to commemorate the six union members killed during the militant strike that forged the organized labor movement.

But is San Francisco still a union town?

For the first time since that 1934 strike, a nonunion maritime company has begun operating on the Embarcadero. Hornblower Cruises and Events, owned by Terry McRae, was awarded a 10-year contract by the National Park Service (NPS) last year to provide ferry service to Alcatraz Island. Some 50 workers, represented by the Inlandboatmen's Union (IBU) and the Masters, Mates and Pilots Union (MMP), with decent working conditions, wages and family health insurance, lost their jobs. They've been picketing, along with their supporters, at Pier 33 on the Embarcadero for the past two months, as McRae refuses to negotiate.