“At a Jobs with Justice meeting last night, I spoke with Paul Bigman of ILWU. We discussed the June 9th Columbia Rally, mentioned above as well as on a few other threads here. Like Jack Heyman, he too plans on attending that Rally. . . and he expects ~100 from ILWU to show up there also. This is an important Line In The Sand for Labor. To those in the area, please try to make a showing for MEBA.He also confirmed what I had heard elsewhere: ILWU is sending their contributions to the address below. As indicated by the Washington State Labor Council statement [cited on the other thread], they too are giving the same address for contributions.
http://www.wslc.org/reports/latest.htm [go to “Wednesday”] ”
The above is excerpted from a posting I recently made on our Members Only BBS. The thread was originally started by someone giving support to the Charleston Five, and included excerpts from that John Bowers letter. I followed with the COMPLETE Bowers letter, followed by my own criticism. I then reposted Jack Heyman’s letter there, and just recently the above.
My union, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association [MEBA], had been an early supporter of this cause. Members on a ship in Charleston were out in the street in support of ILA 1422, several days before that [police-generated] riot. MEBA has been giving the issue coverage in its media, and had just recently come out in full support of the Charleston Five. However, by endorsing the Bowers letter, it also endorsed the “official” ILA Defense Fund over the one in Charleston. On our BBS as well as at the union hall, I took the contrary view. It was gratifying to learn that not only ILWU is still of that view, but so is the Washington State Labor Council. In ANY event, give to one or both addresses.
MEBA, although not very large and spread out through the country, is expected to make a good showing in Columbia tomorrow. So will another maritime officers union. . . MMP.
By way of introduction, I’ve been going to sea from 1946. . . first with Sailors Union of the Pacific [SUP]. . . and then with MEBA from 1964 to last year. I retired last December, but am still “active”. . . I’m MEBA Delegate to Washington State Labor Council, and King County Labor Council, as well as Jobs with Justice.
In Solidarity,
Paul Norman
