ILWU and AFL-CIO message to PMA and Bush:
You are not going to take this waterfront away from us!
by Evelina Alarcon
Nearly 2000 members packed into longshore Local 13’s general membership meeting Oct. 22, eager to hear an update on the longshore division contract fight. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, ILWU International President James Spinosa and Local 13 President Ramon Ponce De Leon exhorted the crowd to keep fighting.
“Our mode is ‘you are not going to take this waterfront away from us—we are going to win,” said Spinosa, who got a standing ovation when he rose to speak.
“We’ve gone far beyond the contract,” Spinosa said. “The employers want to destroy our union and take control of the waterfront. Corporate America and greed are at our doorstep.
“Now, under Taft-Hartley, they are setting the stage to bankrupt the union. They have the media, the President and the courts set up to get us.
“What do we do?” he asked. “We do what we do best. We have to think outside the box and outsmart them. We’ve got Trumka and the AFL-CIO, we have friends around the world and a good negotiating team. The one thing they cannot take away from us is our solidarity.
“You’ve gotta do your job and not allow the PMA to beat us in the courts,” he said. “Stay on the job. They can’t beat us if we stay on the job because we are protecting our job.”
Trumka, who worked with the United Mine Workers Union of America (UMWA) when it faced the Taft-Hartley Act in 1978 and won, pledged to do everything humanly possible to meet the ILWU’s needs.
Referring to the UMWA’s 1978 fight, Trumka said, “We struck for 118 days and we won because we stuck together.
“We know two things for sure. First, that the PMA and shippers are going to continue to try to conquer us by dividing us, and second, that as long as we continue to reject their scheming and we stand together, we will win.”
Trumka blasted President Bush for being “incredibly aggressive” in interfering in collective bargaining and stressed the meaning of the ILWU battle to the rest of labor.
“Bush knows that if he can bring this union down, the rest will be easy for him,” Trumka said. “But on the other hand, when this union stands him down—and you will—Bush will think twice about taking on another union.”
Trumka also talked about labor’s stakes in the November elections and congratulated the ILWU for sending 35 members to five states to participate in close electoral campaigns there.
“This election will determine who will control all three branches of the Federal government,” he said. “It will decide whether Bush can interfere in negotiations or not. You are showing incredible solidarity by sending your members across the country while you face this battle on the waterfront.”
The 35 volunteers from the West Coast locals had just received training in Los Angeles and were on their way the next day to Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Colorado and Arkansas. The 35 were asked to take the stage and they were greeted by a standing ovation from the members.
Dave Arian, public relations chair for the negotiating committee, gave a round-up of the strategy for this stage of the fight. Rob Remar, one of the ILWU’s lawyers, made a presentation on Taft-Hartley.
Local 13 members peppered their leaders and the lawyer with questions after the speeches, but also expressed appreciation for the information.
“The meeting renewed my spirit,” said UTR driver Robin Mahaley. “It reinforced my feeling about the need to educate our friends and neighbors about our fight, and I appreciate that we will be doing that.”
“Now I know what our guys are doing,” said Brett Bozeman. “It was very educational and I know that our guys are on the ball. There is also more solidarity than I knew.”
“I am very stressed, but this meeting was very informative and gave us a lot of knowledge,” UTR driver Mona Briseno said.
Members let their re-charged spirits rip with a rousing ovation at the end of the meeting when Spinosa, Trumka and the Local 13 officers left the stage.