In recent years it has become more of day for tepid marches and predictable, vague sentiments about workers' rights and struggles. Much of the vigour of May Day has waned in recent years.
Along the west coast of the U.S. this year, however, May Day involved a little bit more. twenty-five thousand members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) waged a one-day strike on May 1st, not to back up contract demands, but to protest the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Longshore workers are standing-down on the job and standing up for America," ILWU President Bob McEllrath was quoted as saying. "We're supporting our troops and telling the politicians in Washington it's time to end the war in Iraq."
Their one-day action represented the first time in many decades that American union members took strike action in support of peace. In recent years, unions have either refused to take a stand on war or register official reservations about military action, but offer little in terms of rank-and-file mobilization.
Part of the reason for this is the general political and economic malaise that has infected the U.S. labour movement for the past three decades. But it is also an indication that the leadership was unsure if its members shared its viewpoints on military action. Issues of military action and war are generally framed in the U.S. in patriotic terms, undermining the capacity to build a working-class mobilization against the Iraq war or other actions.
And it should be no surprise that it was the ILWU that broke the mould and took action this past May. The ILWU was borne out of a massive strike of west coast longshoremen in 1934. The strike shut down every port along the west coast for almost three months, despite violent attempts to crush the strike. The ILWU has a long history of labour activism in the U.S.
| WHO ARE THE ILWU?
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union represents 60,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada (with about 14,000 members in Canada). Most of its members work on docks along the west coast in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and B.C.. However, it also represents hotel workers, sea transportation and agricultural workers across the west coast and Hawaii. It also represents one group of bookstore workers in Portland, Oregon (who were featured in Michael Moore's film The Big One). The ILWU has a history of being a militant union not afraid to fight for worker rights. It was born out of an historic strike along the west coast in 1934, when dock workers shut down every west coast port for almost three months. Before the strike, dock workers were either non-union or represented by weak, company unions. The 1934 strike was victorious, leading to the formation of the ILWU. Historically the ILWU has been on the activist end of the American labour movement, and was expelled from the CIO in the cold war era. They rejoined the AFL-CIO in 1988. Before its May Day strike, its most recent controversial action was a widespread work slowdown in 2002, which led to a lock-out and President Bush declaring a "national emergency injunction" against the union, trying to force them back to work. |
The origins of the May Day 2008 action were the rank-and-file members at a national meeting in February 2008. At the ILWU Longshore-Warehouse Caucus meeting, delegates voted heavily in favour of the action. The final vote was 97 in favour to 3 against. Initially the union leadership were hesitant, concerned the event may draw unnecessary negative response from the port employers and the government.
However the members were certain of their desire to walk out to oppose the war, and so the ILWU started organizing and mobilizing. They spent three months informing and educating workers across the west coast, and preparing them for a day of marches, picketing and rallies.
On May Day, the striking workers were effective in completely shutting down the 29 ports that span the west coast from San Diego to Washington state. These ports collectively handle over 50% of U.S. waterborne trade. Even the employer representative acknowledged the effectiveness of the strike. "There is no activity. The ILWU struck west coast ports and brought cargo operations to a virtual standstill," said Steve Getzug, spokesperson for the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) which represents the major port companies in the U.S.
Of course, the PMA took every action it could to prevent the strike, which had been planned for months, including getting an order declaring the strike illegal and requiring the union leadership to urge its members to work.
The union ignored the order, in part due to the rank-and-file origins of the action.
The strikers were joined by thousands of other peace and social justice activists in cities along the coast. However, few other unions joined in the strike. In the weeks leading up to the action, there were scattered resolutions expressing sympathy and support for the ILWU but no other union made a decision to walk off the job.
Due to the minimal support from the rest of the U.S. labour movement, the impact of the strike, both economically and politically, ended up being minimal, but we should not lose sight of the event as an important shift in labour tactics in the U.S. "Could you imagine if this were being duplicated in more places in all the major sectors of the economy?" observed one ILWU striker, summing up its potential. "It would send a message that we want this war to end. It's killing our children and diverting resources from domestic needs."
Ultimately, the strike was more symbol than a prelude to greater political activism from the U.S. labour movement. The international same week in February that its members were voting to stage the strike, the ILWU voted to endorse Barak Obama and put extensive resources into his campaign.
However, for one day longshore workers were willing to put real action behind their political words.
| ILWU MAY DAY STRIKE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS: On May 1, 2003, at the ILWU Convention in San Francisco resolutions were passed calling for an end to the war and occupation in Iraq; and WHEREAS: ILWU took the lead among labor unions in opposing this bloody war and occupation for imperial domination; and WHEREAS: Many unions and the overwhelming majority of the merican people now oppose this bipartisan and unjustifiable war in Iraq and Afghanistan but the two major political parties, Democrats and Republicans continue to fund the war; and WHEREAS: Millions worldwide have marched and demonstrated against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but have been unable to stop the wars; and WHEREAS: ILWU's historic dock actions, 1) like the refusal of Local 10 longshoremen to load bombs for the military dictatorship in Chile in 1978 and military cargo to the Salvadoran military dictatorship in 1981; and 2) the honoring of the teachers' union antiwar picket May 19, 2007 against SSA in the port of Oakland stand as a limited but shining example of how to oppose these wars; and WHEREAS: The spread of war in the Middle East is threatened with U. S. air strikes in Iran or possible military intervention in Syria or the destabilized Pakistan; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED: |
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