By Bob McEllrath, ILWU International President
If you’re a regular reader of The Dispatcher, then you know I don’t write a column unless there’s something important. Now I’ve got some things that I’d like to share with you and other ILWU members.
First, the decision by the Panama Canal Pilots to seek an affiliation agreement with the ILWU is an important, historic and welcome development. We will present a resolution to the delegates at next summer’s International Convention in San Diego to seat this new division on the International Executive Board. But for now, please join me in welcoming these new brothers to the ILWU family with the spirit of solidarity that they deserve.
Like others who work at ports along the West Coast, the pilots in Panama have a critical role in the global supply chain. And like us, they understand that solidarity at home and around the world is linked to their union’s survival.
Our connection with these workers in Panama is part of a broader plan that we’re developing to help our union survive and grow in the difficult years ahead.
In a similar way, I want to salute the work being done by our longshore team to help the port workers in Costa Rica and Peru. This is another part of our strategy and it also deserves recognition. With so many of our employers going global and attacking dockworkers in foreign ports, we can’t afford to sit back while companies try to crush other dockworker unions.
The same principle applies here in North America where anti-union forces are stronger than any time in my memory, and probably stronger today than they have been for several generations.
With most of America’s private sector union membership already destroyed during the past 30 years, anti-union forces are now attacking public unions, including teachers, police, firefighters, librarians and anyone else who works for the local, state or federal government.
The goal of these anti-union fanatics is to scapegoat “greedy unions” for the economic crisis. They want to weaken unions to the point that big business can operate without rules or regulations.
Because I’m speaking to ILWU members, I assume everyone understands that unions don’t just help our membership get better wages and benefits. Our progress helps the entire working class. It’s no accident that wages improved for everyone when union membership grew during the 1930’s through the 1960’s. It’s also true that incomes have been falling for the past thirty years as union membership has declined. There’s no point in sugarcoating the problems that we face now or telling you that your leaders have everything under control. The problems are big and complicated, and they require all of us to lend a hand.
More and more employers are testing the ILWU to see if we have the ability to fight back. I’m talking about powerful companies like Rio Tinto in Boron, Rite Aid in Lancaster, Bayer Pharmaceuticals in Berkeley and the EGT grain terminal in Longview. These employers have challenged the ILWU’s power and other companies are watching on the sidelines to see if we fold or fight. The results so far have been positive. We’ve been able to fight back and win. But many more of these fights are coming in the months and years ahead, so our ability to carry on – and escalate – will be tested.
The situation with EGT in Longview shows what kind of commitment will be required to win a high-stakes showdown with international employers. Already, more than 100 ILWU members have been arrested in this fight with EGT. This is a company that hired 701 Operating Engineers from Portland, Oregon to do traditional ILWU Longshore work in Longview, Washington, Local 21 jurisdiction. For 43 years I have worked inside grain elevators in the Northwest. I have negotiated In-House Grain Agreements and Ship Board Manning and not before or since have I ever seen an operating engineer working inside one of our grain export facilities.
All that you read or hear from the Operating Engineers is propaganda from a rogue union and an outlaw employer who won’t respect the traditional ILWU jurisdiction established during the past 75 years.
In the political realm, President Obama has proven to be a disappointment. He’s been too cautious and placating in dealing with big business, Wall Street and the growing number of anti-union politicians in both political parties.
But Obama is being opposed by a majority in the House of Representatives who are hell-bent on destroying unions, weakening government, privatizing both Social Security and Medicare, while demanding more tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. This situation leaves us with fewer allies in Washington D.C. and a lot more fair-weather friends. To maneuver through this mess, we’ll need to be more careful, independent and willing to say “no” when it comes to making contributions or offering support to weak-kneed politicians.
On a positive note, I’ve been encouraged from the hundreds of ILWU members who have responded generously with contributions to the ILWU’s Political Action Fund. Your contributions will help us hold politicians in Washington D.C. more accountable to union members and the working class.
Solving these and other problems won’t be quick or easy. Our pensioners know what kind of involvement will be required – and they’ll be the first to tell us that it’s going to require some big fights and real sacrifices from everyone.
In the 1930’s, members literally put their bodies on the line to build this union. In the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, members went to jail defending their political freedom and right to strike.
Now things have come full circle again, with the same kind of sacrifice required for the ILWU to survive and grow. With the positive and exciting affiliation of the Panama Canal Pilots to the disheartening actions of
“another union,” to our political situation in state and federal governments, more than ever we all have to fight together to keep our union strong!