Brothers & Sisters,
I know the debates and disputes about the International election is awfully important, but so is this...
The Charleston longshoremen (who were arrested and charged with felonies after their local’s demonstration against Nordana Lines’ plan to use nonunion longshoremen was attacked by the cops) are still in need of our help. Their struggle isn’t over.
So I hope that despite all the controversy surrounding who we should vote for and the internal issues that are presently swirling around in our union, we will still take the time t remember that being in the ILWU is about solidarity, it’s about “an injury to one is an injury to all”!
I urge all brothers and sisters of the ILWU to do whatever they can for the Charleston longshoremen, whether it be writing a letter to S. C. officials, writing the Charleston Dockworkers Defense Committee (for address see separate article) for updates about their fight, or making contributions to their legal fund. What happened in Charleston could happen on the West Coast next. We’re only as strong as the weakest link in the union chain, and the employer attacks on workers in our industry are intensifying internationally, not going away.
I think it would be a good idea to think about starting rank & file support committees in each port on the West Coast in solidarity with the Charleston longshoremen, like when we had the campaign around the Liverpool dockers’ lockout. That way at least we could keep fellow members in our locals/regions up to date on the Charleston situation. If anybody else thinks this is a good idea, please write back and maybe we could get something like that going.
In solidarity,
Brian Wiles
IBU Puget Sound Region
