The court has ruled in ILWU’s favor, allowing Local 10 to go to a jury trial seeking damages against the city of Oakland for the Oakland police attack on nine Local 10 members, the then-business agent Jack Heyman and antiwar protesters during anti-war demonstrations in the port at the start of the war.
Also the court is allowing the ILWU to sue for the trauma caused to ILWU longshore workers who may not have been physically hit or injured but suffer psychological damage caused by the brutal, unprovoked police attack while standing by on safety at the terminal gates.
The jury trial is scheduled for January 17, 2006.
The 2003 ILWU Caucus took action in defense of the ILWU members and protesters by rallying in front of the courthouse to demand the criminal charges against business agent Jack Heyman be dropped, which they subsequently were, as were all charges against all defendants.
Below is the brilliant historical and political brief written by ILWU attorney Rob Remar which documents police hostility directed against longshoremen since the 1934 maritime strike. Remar shows that two executives, one from American President Lines (APL) and one from the Port of Oakland (PO), were “deputized” by police BEFORE the police assault began. It is an educational document worthwhile reading for all workers to learn the lesson that the fight for workers rights is a continuous struggle.
In solidarity,
Jack
