It’s not what I was taught on the basketball court. There my school team’s full court press netted more points than our set plays and got us into the city finals. But sometimes you have to take it to them and knock them back on their heels.

Ever since the 2002 longshore contract was ratified in January 2003 this union has been gearing up for the 2008 negotiations. Vulnerabilities have been identified and programs dispatched to shore up weaknesses. The ILWU will not be caught unprepared again.

Now the union is going on the offensive, at the direction of the 2006 International Convention. That assembly of elected delegates held in Vancouver, B.C. May 15-19 mandated an all-out effort to end the Republican majority in Congress this November.

As ILWU Legislative Director Lindsay McLaughlin points out in his Washington Report this issue (see page 4), the union’s electoral goals and strategy are clearly defined. The plan is to mobilize the rank and file to overthrow the Republicans in both the House and Senate so that Bush and company are kept in check and out of the 2008 contract negotiations.

Of course, such campaigns cost money and the Republicans, knowing very well who they are attacking—working people—and where their strongest opposition to doing so is—organized labor—have used their majority to pass legislation restricting how unions raise political action funds. Such monies can now legally only come from independent voluntary contributions. So the International Convention’s delegates voted to ask all members to give as much as they can.

But even more important than giving money is giving time and effort. If you would like to join the ILWU election campaign, either working locally or shipping out to some battleground state elsewhere, contact your local officers to get involved.

On another front where the ILWU has been under attack, the union has organized and moved offensively. Ever since 9-11 the government has focused its port security efforts on port workers, as if they were the terrorist threat. The union has lobbied and testified on the lack of effectiveness of the government’s plans and on what can work instead.

At a June 7 public hearing the ILWU was joined by other unions, terminal operators and other port businesses in criticizing the government’s current port security plan (see page 3). All agreed it would provide little security while disrupting operations. We’ll see how the bureaucrats respond to the comments by those who work the ports every day.

—Steve Stallone, editor

CORRECTIONS

In the June 2006 Convention/Election issue The Dispatcher incorrectly stated that Columbia River International Executive Board candidate Jerry Ylonen had not submitted n election statement. In fact, Ylonen did submit his statement on time and a corrected version of his statement was sent out first class to all Columbia River members. Also Columbia River International Executive Board candidate George O’Neil was incorrectly identified as a member of Local 8 when he is a member of Local 40. And The Dispatcher incorrectly stated that Southern California Executive Board candidate Warren Shelton became a registered B longshore worker in 1998 when in fact that happened in 1986.