Tonight several dozen activists and members of the ILWU, Local 10 stood out in front of Berth 23 as a ship from Liverpool stood idly in the harbor. The company has tried for three days to get the ship unloaded but without success. The pickets walked in front of the road leading to the ship and the ILWU refused to cross the picket line. An arbiter was called in an ruled that the picket line raised "health and safety" issues and therefore the union members would not be forced to cross the line and go to unload the ship.

The spirits were high and some activists pledge to return early tomorrow morning and the next day to keep the pressure on--all in solidarity with your efforts in Liverpool to get your union jobs back. The management received a court injunction at 5pm today, which was then passed out to the picketers. After awhile the police left and the pickets remained, so the workers were sent home for this shift. It is a bit of a cat and mouse game, but people here in Oakland are up for the battle.

Jerry Brown
Governor of California, 1975-1983