The New Year is almost here, so I’ve been thinking that it’s a good time for us to look back and see what we’ve accomplished, where we fell short, and where we’re heading in 2008.

For many ILWU members, 2007 was a challenging year. Nobody knows that better than 300 workers from Local 6—mostly women—who earn low wages at Waste Management in Oakland. They honored Teamster picket lines for the entire month of July, and taught us all an important lesson about the power and pain of solidarity. ILWU locals and other unions donated tens of thousands of dollars in financial aid, but that money couldn’t begin to cover the rent, car payments, and other bills those families faced without paychecks for a full month. In the recent history of our union, these Local 6 workers have set a new standard for courage and solidarity.

Clerical workers at the ports of LA and Long Beach also won their hard-fought battle for better pay and benefits, as did Northern California warehouse workers who settled their master agreement. Workers at Powell’s Books did a great job negotiating their latest contract, along with folks at the Farmers’ Rice Cooperative, Sims Metals, Crescent Wharf and Warehousing, and dozens of other workplaces.

The October Dispatcher gave us a sober look at the challenges facing ILWU warehouse workers who have struggled to maintain their pay and benefits as shops close and union density drops. I’m pleased that Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams took leadership in 2007 to begin holding regular meetings with leaders from all the warehouse locals. Those meetings—along with hard work by our organizing staff and ILWU volunteer organizers—are moving us in the right direction.

One of the greatest challenges I saw in 2007 was how to help California workers at Blue Diamond Growers in Sacramento and the Rite Aid warehouse in Lancaster. These workers, and millions more like them, simply want to join a union, but the laws and courts have been rigged to favor anti-union employers. We have to change that system because we’ll all benefit if more workers can join unions, including the ILWU. The relatively small number of us who have good union jobs today are badly outnumbered; only seven percent of private sector workers have a union. That’s why organizing has to be a priority—not just to help other workers—but to protect our own jobs as well.

Electing a new President in 2008 who supports the “Employee Free Choice Act” could make a big difference by establishing stronger protections for workers who want to join unions. In the meantime, we’ll keep helping the workers at Blue Diamond, Rite Aid, and wherever workers stand up for their rights and need our support.

ILWU members also need help to learn how to enforce our existing contracts and stand up for our rights on the job. That’s why I was pleased that we held two large training sessions this past year: the Grievance and Arbitration Procedures workshop (GAP) for longshore workers that was sponsored by the Coast Committee and the Leadership Education and Development Institute (LEAD), sponsored by the International Union. These projects helped train hundreds of rank-and-file members, providing skills that will help them lead our union in the future.

For most of us who work in longshore, this has been a pretty good year. The work has been steady, union membership is growing, and we’ve got the best-paying blue collar jobs in America, thanks to the sacrifices of those who came before us.

The pay is good, but our work continues to be incredibly dangerous. Many workers suffered serious injuries last year and four died on the waterfront in 2007: In April, Joseph Alesio died in Seattle. In September, Reginald Ross died in Oakland. And in October, Dan Miller died at work on the Seattle docks. In February, we lost Piper Cameron, a member of the Inlandboatmen’s Union who worked on tugs in Southern California. Our deepest sympathies go out to these families and co-workers who lost their loved ones.

All of us in the extended family we call the ILWU, have a responsibility to keep fighting and improving conditions for those who remain, and for future generations.

Our next chance to continue that great legacy will come in 2008, when we’ll bargain for new longshore contracts in the U.S. and Canada. Longshore workers in Canada have been negotiating their new contract through most of 2007, and they’ve hunkered down for a long, hard fight against the employers, the courts, and the government. The ILWU stands ready to help our Canadian brothers and sisters with all the solidarity and support that they need.

Bargaining our new longshore contract will involve many issues, including protecting our health and retirement benefits, better on-the-job safety, dealing with new technology, and pushing for cleaner air on the docks and in our communities.

The final list of priorities for the 2008 longshore contract won’t be finalized until the Coast Caucus completes their work in early February. But our basic strategy is clear: keep everyone informed and keep building support from politicians, the public, and local community groups. We also have support and solidarity from other unions across the country and around the world, including Mexico, Central America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Dockworkers from these other countries, including Mexico, face many of the same tough employers that we deal with here.

Workers in other countries sometimes pay with their lives for organizing a union, just like ILWU members did in 1934—which is why we responded so quickly to support the dockworkers in Guatemala after their union leader, Pedro Zamora, was brutally murdered in January 2007.

The big shippers, terminal operators, and investors in our industry have no loyalty to any country—their goal is to move freight cheaply and make money in the process—even if it means doing business where wages are low and basic rights are often ignored.

An important challenge in 2008 will be to keep ahead of this curve and not let companies get the upper hand over dock workers in any country. That’s why we’ll keep working with dockworkers in Mexico, China, and other countries in order to have leverage on employers wherever they operate around the world.

All this means we’re going into 2008 with a number of important priorities, including:

•    Electing a new President of the United States and members of Congress who will stand up for working people and promote peace in the world.

•     Winning good longshore contracts in the United States and Canada. To win, we’ll need to build public support, keep everyone informed and involved, and prepare for action if that’s what it takes to get a fair contract.

•    Helping more workers join unions, both at home and abroad, because all of us benefit when union membership is growing.

•    Training more of our rank-and-file members and providing them with the skills they need to lead our union now and in the future.

Putting these priorities into practice won’t happen without the dedication and support from rank-and-file members like you. I look forward to working with you in 2008 and building a stronger union together.

“An injury to one is an injury to all.”