Longshore rallies to Bush: Butt out

“Contract, Yes! Government intervention, No!” was the message of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), the AFL-CIO, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and many mayors at rallies up and down the West Coast, Aug. 12. Thousands took to the streets in protest of a threat by the Bush administration to take over ports militarily in the event that the union decides to strike.

“I’m here because I think you are right on track. The stakes could not be higher,” Daschle said to the Portland, Ore., rally. “I say this administration is wrong, wrong, wrong, and you’ve got every right to fight, fight, fight!”

“We will be with you until the last day to see that you get what you deserve,” Daschle said as he pledged that Democrats nationwide would defend the union’s right to strike.

Backing that message were other prominent Congressional Democrats including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.), who joined Daschle in Portland; Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) and House Democratic Whip Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sent strongly worded messages to the rallies.

The mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma also pledged their support to the ILWU.

“The collective bargaining process is the appropriate method by which labor disputes are to be resolved. It is in place. It should stay in place,” said San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who called on President Bush not to interfere.

The federal government “certainly should not do so by using the national guard or any group of federal troops to replace legitimate workers,” continued Brown.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Janice Hahn, representing Mayor James Hahn and the City Council, told the rally in Long Beach, Calif., of over 3,000 that the “3.5 million people in the city of Los Angeles are behind you.”

She announced that the mayor and City Council passed a resolution officially opposing any intevention by federal government in negotiations.

“The heavy hand of government” should not be allowed “to influence or change the outcome of contract negotiations,” Hahn said. “Nobody wants to strike, but it is your right!”

“President Bush, if you close down the ports, we will close down San Pedro and we will close down Long Beach!” shouted Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Executive Secretary-Treasurer Miguel Contreras, who chaired the Long Beach rally.

“If you take on the ILWU, you take on all of the American labor movement!” Contreras continued, as he named the numerous unions represented at the rally. “If you want to challenge us, let’s get it on!”

“There is going to be economic justice for the members of the ILWU, or there is going to be one hell of a strike that’ll involve the entire labor movement,” Teamsters International Vice President Chuck Mack said to the Oakland rally. “[International Brotherhood of Teamsters] President [James] Hoffa asked me to tell you, whatever it takes, we’ll do to make sure there is a decent contract for ILWU members.”

With strong words of his own, ILWU International President James Spinosa told the Oakland rally of 1,500 that “the labor movement and the ILWU are not going to stand by and allow for government intervention into the bargaining process.”

Spinosa blasted their employers, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), who are using the Bush threat as a cover to pressure the ILWU for major takeaways aimed at busting the union. “Bush better get his act together and fight those who are not doing their job in this set of negotiations, instead of the working men and women who serve our country,” he said.

“Our fathers and grandfathers who worked these ports earned the rights we have today,” said Ramon Ponce de Leon, president of ILWU Local 13 in Los Angeles. “Four of our members died in a strike for those rights. If they push us again, we’re ready, whatever the cost. It’s our day and we’ll stand up and fight!”

Many leaders rebuked the charges by the Bush administrations and the PMA that an ILWU strike or labor action is a threat to national or economic security.

“Working people cannot be blamed for the nation’s economic meltdown. While firefighters and rescue workers were risking their lives in the Sept. 11 disaster ... our captains of industry had their own agenda,” said Domenick Miretti, ILWU senior liason between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. “They were engaged in creative bookkeeping, stock manipulation and shady energy deals in California.”

“They have no right to blame the state of the economy on the ILWU. That is the fault of the stock market, of the robber barons, of the greedy corporations,” said Clarence Thomas, Bay Area ILWU Local 10 secretary-treasurer. “The employers talk about how much we make but don’t tell you how many longshoremen have died. This is a dangerous job. How much do these bleeding heart shipowners make? ... They make billions off our labor.”

ILWU Local 10 President Richard Mead spoke about how people all over the world are joining to protest the “facade of national security,” which “the employers and the Bush administration have conspired to weaken or break the ILWU. People in America have rights that come before corporate profit.”

Judy Goff, executive secretary-treasurer of the Alameda County Central Labor Council, said labor and the community will make sure that “any expansion [of the Port of Oakland] is going to be built union and operated union. So now we say: ‘Bush, say out of the Port of Oakland.’”

The negotiations which had been in recess since July 21, started up once again this week on Aug. 13 but had to recess when Robert Spinosa, the 94-year-old father of ILWU President James Spinosa, passed away that evening. Although James Spinosa is the chief bargaining spokesman for the 13-member ILWU bargaining team, the remaining members will work on specific issues until a new schedule is set for negotiations.

Anybody who doesn't believe the Democrats are not behind the shutdown of west coast shipping, this article should leave no doubt. It shows you there whole campaign was designed to hammer Bush on the economy, and to use this strike to cripple it right as Americans were headed to the polls. They planned this months ago.

If they would put half as much thought into actually figuring out ways to help the country, instead of cooking up schemes to win re-election, this country would be a lot better off.

These guys make good money. The big issue according to KGO (left radio) is that the shippers want to institute bar code scanners. This will eliminate the need for some clerks who average $120k per year. That's right...clerks.

I have a feeling that President Bush may let them stew in their own juices until workers across the country that are going to be laid off soon start to call their Democrat representatives and demand they ask the President to order a cooling off.

You are so right that this is another Democrat trap, but Bush may be savvy enough not to step into it. OTOH, he may also feel responsible enough toward the innocent bystanders, like truckers and sales people and agricultural workers, that are being hurt by this, to decide to take the heat for their sakes.

And what awful thing has the employer done to these longshoremen? Decided that $70,000 a year plus medical benefits and a pension plan is already more than they can afford, and they won't give them more?

I hope the President, and his team, are wise enough to convey to the American people that this is another Tom Dastard production. ALL the blame for the damage done to the economy because of this strike needs to be laid on the Demonrats doorstep.

Nothing else has worked to change the subject so why not try this? ROFLOL!

BTW, isn't the LITTLE GUY suppose to be working on a budget instead of campaigning?! I think the LITTLE GUY'S desk is overflowing with "homework" that hasn't been done yet. I think we should hold him "after school" until he get's it finished. So much for getting the work done for the American people.

You got it. The DNC accused Bush of 'talking down' the eonomy. Now we see genuine meddling of the economy, and most people are going to understand that. Most Americans get it about unions. FReegards....

Before this is over, the American people will know that these longshoremen are very well paid. They don't slave away in the salt mines for pennies. They are making more money than most union workers in this country.

It never fails. The people crying the loudest are the best paid.

This could almost be fun if it wasn't so serious. President Bush merely needs to agree with daschle and say the fed has no business with the matter. Then let them all work it out together. As it gets uglier and uglier, the President can remind every one about what daschle, boxer, the unions, and all of the other demos thought and said.

First off, what you folks need to do is to look closely at the source: "la.indymedia.com".

This report is a propaganda broadsheet issued by a socialist organization. The one-sided nature of the report indicates that it is not an "objective" report. Rather, it is a collection of misleading assertions and quotations from labor activists who just happen to be aligned with the Democratic Party. Notice how the role of Tom Daschle is highlighted.

I know that AP and Reuters aren't much better, but one shouldn't post a report like this without a barf-alert warning.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

The inevitable outcome here is not hard to see. We're talking about 80,000 faithfully liberal voters in states which GWB doesn't need. These aren't people that might be won over to our side, they are the core of the democratic constituency.

So He'll wait till the Nissan dealers in Atlanta have to think about laying off their clerical staff for lack of sales then he'll use Taft-Hartley to throw these guys out on the street, and use the national guard to get non-union labor back and forth for the first few weeks. The Ports will modernize, and that will be the end of it.

If he invokes Reagan he might actually gain votes in the swing states.

And apart from that, it's the right thing to do. The left accuses businessmen of greed all the time, but if you want to see real greed, here it is.

These punks make 6 figures for watching trucks and they are pissing and moaning because we, together as a nation, want to make the west coast ports in this country more efficient ?

I say they should be thankful they had a good gig while it lasted and move on.

Re: "If he invokes Reagan he might actually gain votes in the swing states."

Agreed!

"If you don't get back to work, you're all fired."
"O.K. You're all fired."

If he invokes Reagan he might actually gain votes in the swing states.

Invoke Reagan?
Heck, invoke Truman.
Harry put the ka-bosh on the unions of the railway workers soon after WWII,
saying that he couldn't allow them to wreck the fragile economy.

It's got to be true...I saw this on a special on...PBS.

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