The third meeting of the International Dockworkers Council (IDC) was held in Long Beach, California on August 12-14. The event was hosted by the ILWU and brought together unions representing dockworkers from 18 countries in South America, Central America, North America, Europe, and North Africa.

History of action
and solidarity

The IDC was formed to coordinate solidarity efforts that support workers, their unions, and confront abuses
 by the global shipping and stevedoring industries. The group coalesced in the mid 1990’s when many unions, including the ILWU, supported dockworkers in Liverpool, England who were fighting a privatization scheme at their port without the full backing of their parent union – making it difficult for the International Transport Federation (ITF) to lend support.
 
The IDC first met in 2000, when dockworkers in Charleston, South Carolina, (known as the “Charleston Five”) were fighting trumped-up conspiracy charges brought against five I.L.A. union activists who challenged a union-busting effort at their port. Those charges were later dismissed after the ILWU and other unions protested and provided legal defense support.

Recent victories

In January of this year, the IDC helped lead protests against industry and government efforts to weaken dockworker unions within the European Community. The effort was successful, following protests involving 10,000 workers in 150 ports around the world that included 36-hour strikes in Portugal, France, Greece, Cypress, and Sweden. Dockers in Belgium, Holland, and Finland also struck for two hours to show their support for the global campaign.

Calls for unity

International President Bob McEllrath opened the event in Long Beach with an address that praised the victories and accomplishments of the IDC, but also challenged delegates to consider working more closely with the ITF.

“The ILWU is committed to helping dockworkers around the world whenever they need help, whether they’re affiliated with the IDC, the ITF, or any other group,” he said. “The most important thing is for dockers to work together,” he said.

Paddy Crumlin, National Secre-tary of the Maritime Union of Australia that is affiliated with the ITF, appeared briefly as a special guest speaker but made a dramatic appeal for unity. “I know there have been disappointments and mistakes in the past, but the ITF has been changing and improving,” he asserted. Crumlin said the two docker groups should consider joining forces to build a united dockworker movement on a global level.

The financial realities of maintaining the International Dockworker Council raised another set of challenges for the meeting in Long Beach. Many groups had failed to make their minimum contributions to support the IDC, despite earlier pledges to do so, leaving a degree of uncertainty about how the group can continue to operate.

Despite the political and financial challenges, the IDC meeting inspired delegates to continue building solidarity across borders and between different unions. The body thanked Julian Garcia of the Spanish dockworker union “La Coordinadora” with a standing ovation for his leadership as General Coondinator of the IDC, and elected a dynamic young activist from the same union, Antolin Goya, to replace Garcia.

International support makes a difference

The ILWU Organizing team delivered a brief presentation to the IDC, offering special thanks to the Spanish dockworkers who scored an important victory last year in the campaign to support the ILWU organizing support for Blue Diamond Almond workers. La Coordinadora led a successful effort to disrupt a global industry conference in Spain that featured the CEO of Blue Diamond who was upstaged by Spanish activists who challenged his union-busting practices in Sacramento.

“Your solidarity action showed Blue Diamond officials that workers in Sacramento are part of a network with global reach,” said ILWU Organizing Director Peter Olney.