The immortal words "Are you now, or have you ever been a member of..." are engraved on the memory of every trade unionist, political activist or liberal who lived through the Cold War. They were the opening lines of cross-examination as hundreds of suspected Communists or Communist sympathisers were hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee under the thumb of Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
In a witch-hunt echoing both the Moscow trials of the 1930's and fascism, HUAC trawled the institutions of 1950's America inviting Army officers and Hollywood scriptwriters to save their own necks by fingering colleagues for having allegedly attended meetings up to 20 years earlier. McCarthy isn't much of a hero nowadays.
How surprising then that the shipping industry, in its quest for revenge after the "Neptune Jade" toured the world unable to discharge its UK cargo in Oakland, Vancouver, Yokohama, or Kobe (as reported in the Dockers Charter) has now taken a leaf straight out of McCarthy's book.
Lawyers acting for the Pacific Maritime Association, Yusen Terminals, and Centennial Stevedoring are demanding that various individuals and organisations answer a chilling series of Special Interrogatory questions:
"Identify all persons, associations, and organizations known to you who participated in one or more of the demonstrations at Yusen Terminals, Berth 23, Port of Oakland, at any time between the dates of September 28, 1997 and October 1, 1997, inclusive.
"Identify all persons, associations, and organizations known to you who participated in the planning, organizing, or arranging of any of the demonstrations referred to in Special Interrogatory No. 1.
"Identify all labor organizations in which you are or have been a member or with which you are or have been in any way affiliated.
"Identify all political organizations in which you are or have been a member or with which you are or have been in any way affiliated....
"Identify the person or persons who first communicated to you the idea of holding a demonstration at a Northern California Port with any connection to dockworkers in Liverpool, England.
"Identify the person who first communicated to you the idea of holding a demonstration over the cargo, or any portion thereof, on the vessel Neptune Jade.
"Identify every person you believe was a member of or in any way affiliated with the Committee for Victory to the Liverpool Dockers prior to October 2, 1997....
"Identify ever person who assisted in preparing or distributing any handbill that was distributed at Yusen Terminals, Berth 23, Port of Oakland, between Setpember 23, 1997 and October 1, 1997, inclusive, including but not limited to, communicating or providing information about the Area Arbitrator, and providing the paper, or the printing or copying services, for the handbills.
"Identify your current employer(s). State your current job title(s)."
Meanwhile, on 18 November Robert Irminger, "picket captain" for the Oakland actions, was tried on a charge of "contempt of court", as the employers had eventually obtained an injunction limiting the number of pickets but a larger group turned up for the ongoing leafletting sessions which continued to persuade truckers and ILWU longshoremen not to cross the line. Freedom of speech is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As we go to press, the Judge is considering her verdict. Irminger may end up in jail.
The industry is also seeking damages running to millions of dollars, while putting Irminger through the Special Interrogatory routine, alongside ILWU Local 10 Executive member Jack Heyman.
The Labor Studies "Group" at Laney College in Oakland is being sued while lawyers demand that its coordinator Albert Lannon supply membership lists, minutes of meetings, and name everyone he knows attended any of the demonstrations. On September 28, a student went along to the picket for about two hours with the Labor Studies Club's colourful banner, two days before the injunction was obtained.
The industry's thermonuclear response suggests that the "Neptune Jade" actions hit home. San Francisco has a history of standing up for free speech, and the ILWU stood up to the purge of the left in the 1950's. So the stage is set for a big battle over fundamental democratic rights: the right to organise, the right to express an opinion, the right to decline to cross a picket line.
Send solidarity messages to:
ILWU Local 10
400 North Point St.
San Francisco
CA 94133
U.S.A.
ILWU Local 34
4 Berry St.
San Francisco
CA 94107
U.S.A.
ILWU International Executive Board
1188 Franklin St.
San Francisco
CA 94109
U.S.A.
The Liverpool Dockers Victory Defense Committee
P.O. Box 2574
Oakland
CA 94614
U.S.A.
Albert Lannon, Chair, Laney College Labor Studies Department requests a few words of support for Laney College Labor Studies, for the obligation of the administration to protect faculty and students, for the right of instructors not to inform on their students, for First Amendment rights to peacefully demonstrate, for concern about free speech, academic freedom, and common morality.
Send them to: A.J. Harrison, Chancellor Peralta Community College District, 333 East 8th Street, Oakland, CA 94608, and to Earnest Crutchfield, President, Laney College, 900 Fallon Street, Oakland, CA 94607. Copies can be sent to Albert Lannon at the Laney address, or by e-mail to avlannon@sfsu.edu
LabourNet report by Greg Dropkin
