Committee to Defend the ILWU
JOIN THE SOLIDARITY CARAVAN
TO LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON
There’s a war going on against dock-workers and their amilies in Longview,Washington—members o InternationalLongshore & Warehouse Union ILWULocal 21. They’ve been arrested, beat-en and their homes have been raided.They are fghting to protect their union jobs against EGT Export Grain Terminal,who are seeking to break the ILWU’scoast-wide contract established aterthe 1934 San Francisco general strikeand West Coast Maritime strike.
EGT, and their majority partner, BungeNA, are trying to bust the ILWU, one o the most militant, progressive unions inthe U.S. EGT sued the Port o Longview,claiming they would not recognize ILWU jurisdiction. On Sept. 8 hundreds o an-gry longshore workers charged throughthe gates o the new EGT grain exportterminal at Longview. Newspapers report-ed that grain was dumped rom a 107-cartrain, and a cyclone ence torn down.At a time when national union membershiphas dropped to a 70 year low o 11.9%,and private sector workers in unions ellto 6.9%, this is part o the 1%’s attack todrive us all to the bottom. Even at theselow membership rates, nationally, medi-an weekly wages or union members are$917, compared to $717 or workers notin unions. The 1% not only wants to takeaway that extra $200 rom the remain-ing 14.7 million, who are unionized, butwants to destroy all unions, especially themilitant ILWU, to keep us rom organizingto take back what’s rightully ours.The ILWU is a democratic, bottom-up un-ion, with an activist rank and fle, whichhas a strong history o support or com-munity issues, standing up againstApartheid South Arica, against the warin Iraq, or the Wisconsin state workers’struggle against union busting. ILWULocal 10 backed community protests aboutthe police murder o Oscar Grant. Theyhonored picket lines in Occupy Oakland’scall or a 11/2 General Strike and 12/12Port Shutdown. Local 10 has pledged ullsupport or the Longview struggle, and isunding or a bus to Longview or the Cara-van when the grain ship comes in.We need to resist when the 1% pushestheir austerity measures down the throatso the 99%, or when they treat immigrantworkers as scapegoats or the fnancialcrisis. We not only demand jobs or theunemployed, but union wages and ben-efts. I EGT is successul in its attack onthe ILWU in Longview, it will have a rip-ple eect on all port workers on the WestCoast. Let’s raise the union banner high:
An injury to one is an injury to all.
DEFEND ILWU LOCAL 21 AGAINST UNION BUSTING BY EGT
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