1) Report on the Four-Day Tour to France by ILWU Local 10 Secretary-Treasurer Clarence Thomas
2) Presentation by Clarence Thomas to Paris rally on Sept. 27
3) Announcement of Urgent Meeting of Portworkers’ Solidarity Committee in San Francisco on Thursday, Oct. 3
1) Report on the Four-Day Tour to France by ILWU Local 10 Secretary-Treasurer Clarence Thomas
On September 27 through October 1, Clarence Thomas, secretary-treasurer of ILWU Local 10, traveled to France at the invitation of the French Workers Party and the International Liaison Committee for a Workers’ International (ILC). The purpose of the brief tour was to build support for the embattled ILWU and to organize mass opposition to Bush’s war against working people the world over – particularly the imminent war on the people of Iraq.
The French Workers Party and ILC are a component part of the OWC Continuations Committee. In recent years they have been in the forefront of the effort to build international solidarity with the Liverpool dockers, the Neptune Jade defendants, the Charleston Five – the fight to free Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the list goes on.
Below we are reprinting the full presentation by Clarence Thomas to the rally in Paris on Sept. 27th. In a separate posting, we will reprint major excerpts from the other speakers who addressed the Paris rally. – OWC Continuations Committee
2) Presentation by Clarence Thomas, Secretary Treasurer ILWU Local 10, to Sept. 27 rally in Paris at Mutualité Hall
Bonsoir.
On behalf of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10, I bring greetings and solidarity to the Workers Party of France, the International Liaison Committee for Workers’ Rights, and all the unionists and labor activists who are here tonight. It is indeed a privilege and a pleasure to be among you because you are truly activists for peace, economic justice, and international labor solidarity. You have been in the vanguard of so many important issues - such as the fight against the FTAA and the WTO, as well as solidarity with the Liverpool dockers’ struggle, the Charleston Five, the Neptune Jade defendants, and the efforts to free Mumia Abu-Jamal.
The ILWU will never forget what the longshoremen in France did in 1946. In that year, you told President Truman, “If you attempt to use the U. S. Navy and the Army to man and load cargo ships, then we will treat those ships as if they were loaded with scab labor – and we will refuse to unload them.”
That message was so strong that Truman had to retreat and not use the military to break our strike. It is that kind of labor solidarity that is going to be necessary today, because once again the ILWU is being faced with not only a battle with the employers but also with the Bush administration.
For the past five months, the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) have been involved in contentious negotiations. Those negotiations have been further complicated by the intervention of the Bush administration. The Bush administration is using the tragic events of September 11th as a subterfuge to launch an attack on hard-fought and hard-won union gains.
Early in our negotiations, Tom Ridge, chief of the Department of Homeland Security, placed a telephone call to our international president. That raised the question: What does the head of the secret police have to do with issues concerning collective bargaining? That telephone call was a veiled threat to our union that the government would put its weight on the side of the employer not only to come up with an agreement in the employers’ favor, but also to send the message that it would crush the ILWU.
The ILWU has a long history of going up against the government:
It is for this reason, our glorious progressive history, along with the fact that we control the movement of cargo on the entire West Coast, that the Bush administration has not only launched an “endless war on terrorism,” but also a war against the ILWU.
In 1934, the ILWU engaged in a coast-wide strike. Before that, the unions were forced to negotiate contracts by respective locals – without a coast-wide agreement. The Bush administration would like to take the ILWU back to the days before 1934. That will never happen!
We understand that as unionists we have an obligation not only to negotiate good wages and working conditions for our members, but we also have a responsibility to propel the issue of economic social justice for all working and oppressed people.
It is an honor for me to be here to convey to you that all of the American workers do not agree with George Bush and his endless war against terrorism. The war on terrorism is a war on workers’ rights. It’s a war on our civil liberties. It’s a war to support the agenda of global capitalism.
In closing, I would like to lead you to chant: “An injury to one is an injury to all!” – “An injury to one is an injury to all!”
Let me translate that:
“Une attaque contre un est une attaque contre tous!”
Merci.
3) Urgent Meeting of Portworkers’ Solidarity Committee
A reminder for a very important Portworker’s Solidarity Committee Meeting.
When: Thursday, October 3, 7:00 pm Where: ILWU Local 10, 400 North Point, SF
We will get an update from our ILWU liaison and plan our solidarity efforts to support longshore workers who have been LOCKED OUT by the PMA.
Please invite all labor supporters to attend this meeting. Please continue to support the ILWU by going down to the picket line, and spreading the word about their struggle.
– Sue Sandlin,
Portworkers’ Solidarity Committee
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