2010 Year in Review

As we enter 2011, the Dispatcher takes a look back at some of the accomplishments and struggles that ILWU members faced in 2010.

Breaking the lockout in Boron

One of the largest mining companies in the world – Rio Tinto – tried to take out  ILWU Local 30 members last year in Boron, CA but the company folded in the face of an impressive show of solidarity at home and abroad. Rio Tinto had reason to be confident after forcing nasty concessions on other union miners in the U.S. and around the world.  The 570 families in Boron won their 15-week struggle thanks to support from the ILWU family, labor unions in Southern California and solidarity from union members around the world. Small businesses, neighbors and church leaders provided vital support at home in the high-desert communities. Local 30 members won a six-year agreement that phased-out a defined benefit pension plan but preserved essential rights on the job along with guaranteed raises and a $5,000 bonus.

“Local 30 members deserve the credit for sticking together and fighting for the best agreement we could get from a company that wanted to destroy our union, explained Local 30 President Dave Liebengood. “We didn’t get everything we wanted, and we had to make some compromises, but most workers felt that the final contract was a real victory for us.”

The agreement with Rio Tinto was reached with help from ILWU International President Bob McEllrath, Vice President Ray Familathe, and Secretary Treasurer Willie Adams.  Local 30 President Dave Liebengood and the rank and file Negotiating Committee asked the ILWU International officers to assist them during the final week of intensive negotiations.

The victory against Rio Tinto could not have happened without the support from labor unions in Southern California who donated more than $50,000 in food to help families survive. Other money – more than $100,000 – was raised by ILWU Locals, the International, and other union groups to help Local 30 members keep their health insurance, pay mortgages, rent, car payments and utility bills.

Member Kim Evans expressed the views of many: “When we first got locked out I thought there was no way in heck we would win this. But we had so many people that showed up out here. I grew up out here, but for other people it’s a shock to see our little tiny desert town that looks like it would blow away. The Teamster trucks brought us $30,000 worth of groceries and then another $20,000, so we had a food bank.”

Besides paying for many of the groceries, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) in Southern California also delivered hundreds of Easter Baskets to families. Members at UFCW Local 8 in Sacramento donated 3,500 pounds of chicken. Members of ILWU Local 17 in Sacramento collected enough donations to buy and deliver 2,000 pounds of rice.

Darrell Nichols was typical of many Local 30 members who stepped up and took on new responsibilities during the lockout. Before it was over, he had served on the Contract Action Team (CAT), as a Gate Captain, and a member of the Emergency Support Committee that allocated funds to families in financial distress. And that’s all in addition to his duties as a local pastor.

“The support we got here in our community and from around the world was unbelievable,” said Nichols. It’s just amazing when you come from a little town like we do. It was really mind blowing to see all the unions donating food and money to help our families because it showed everyone that people really do care about each other. I learned that if you stick together and you have a common goal, you’ll come out OK,” said Nichols. “I’ve seen our union fall apart before, but this time we stuck together, and we did it.

The David vs. Goliath story is told in the new documentary by filmmaker Joan Sekler: “Locked Out – The Story of the Boron Miners’ Struggle.” The film debuted in Boron to an audience of Local 30 families and neighbors in December.  The film will also be shown on Wednesday, February 16^th at the Warner Grand Theater in San Pedro at an event sponsored by Locals 13, 63 and 94. Contact the locals for more information. DVD copies of the film can be purchased from the filmmaker at http://www.lockedout2010.org

Coast Committee stands with Latin American dockworkers

In 2010, the Coast Longshore Division increased its solidarity efforts and support of dockworkers in Latin America. These workers have faced assaults from governments and corporate forces who – with the support of the United States government – seek to destroy the dockworkers’ unions and rollback social gains they have won. The Coast Committee stood firmly behind dockworkers in Costa Rica and Peru who are facing fierce attacks from their governments and corporate forces who are trying to privatize ports at the expense of workers’ wages, health and safety.

The Coast Committee took actions in support of dockworkers in the Costa Rican ports of Limón and Moín after the democratically elected leadership of their union, SINTRAJAP, was illegally ousted by the Costa Rican government and replaced by a employer-run board of union directors. The sham union board then quickly signed a privatization agreement in exchange for a $137 million buyout in the name of a World Bank-funded project to promote “port reform.”

The Coast Committee publicized the plight of the Costa Rican dockworkers and filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Labor under the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) for “serious and repeated failures by the government of Costa Rica to enforce its own labor laws” and for illegally ousting the leadership of SINTRAJAP. The petition asked the US Government to invoke the labor provision in DR-CAFTA requiring the Costa Rican government to remedy the violations of international and domestic labor laws.

The Coast Committee also stood behind Peruvian dockworkers at the Port of Callao in their struggle with terminal operator DP World. DP World is refusing to negotiate with Callao’s longshore union, known as SUTRAMPORPC. Instead of hiring registered longshoremen, DP World has been replacing registered union members with workers off the street, a violation of Peruvian law. Rather than enforce the law, the government of Peru has taken a hard line against the union.

Without enforcement of the federal laws to protect them, Callao’s longshore workers agreed to return to work, but have drawn international attention to their plight. In June, a lifelong union advocate who was elected to Peru’s Congress, Luis Negreiros, met with Coast Committeemen Ray Ortiz, Jr. and Leal Sundet in San Francisco to update them on the situation in Callao.

“What we’re seeing in Callao and across Latin America is a corporate drive, backed in full support by the United States Government, to extract a profit at any cost, and that means workers pay the price,” said Coast Committeeman Leal Sundet. “The tool of the trade is loan shark lending by the World Bank and the IMF with terms that are designed to dismantle social contracts to allow looting of the country’s resources by foreign corporations through privitization.”

ILWU President Robert McEllrath wrote a letter to Peru’s President expressing concern over the government’s inaction. McEllrath called on the government to demand that DP World comply the labor rights contained in the International Labor Organization Declaration.

The Coast Committee also sponsored the SUTRAMPORPC General Secretary to attend a Global Terminal seminar in Long Beach to tell the union’s story, but he was denied a visa by the US Department of State under the dubious claim that he had insufficient ties to motivate his return to his home in Peru.

U.S. election results strengthen anti-union forces

ILWU Local 13 member Sal Pardo and Congresswoman Laura Richardson.

The November 2010 elections were a setback for workers across the country. In Congress, a new crop of anti-union forces now control a majority of votes in the House of Representatives and with it, the power to push their anti-worker, corporate agenda.

Anti-union politicians are using the Wall Street-caused recession to launch an assault on public-sector workers – blaming them for massive state and federal deficits – while simultaneously pushing tax cuts for the super wealthy that fuel the growing deficits. A new wave of anti-immigrant legislation seeks to overturn the 14^th Amendment that assures due process and equal protection against racist state laws that once allowed segregation and denial of basic civil rights including the right to vote.

The West Cost was a notable exception to the right-wing anti-union wave that swept across the country. California voters beat back two anti-union corporate millionaires – one in the state’s race for governor’s race and another who tried to defeat US Senator and union ally Barbara Boxer. In Oregon, union supporter John Kitzhaber won a close victory over Chris Dudley in the race for Governor and anti-union forces also came up short in their attempt to take down Congressman Peter DeFazio, a sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act that would make it easier for workers to join unions. In Washington State, US Senator Patty Murray squeaked by anti-union candidate Dino Rossi. In Alaska, anti-union extremist Joe Miller lost to Lisa Murkowski who won a rare write-in campaign.

ILWU members shine in Oakland Mayor’s race

The 2010 election also saw the reemergence of ILWU members as an important force in a key Bay Area race for Oakland’s Mayor. In one of the largest political mobilizations in years, Bay Area ILWU members provided the critical support to Jean Quan, a long-shot candidate who took on establishment Democrat Don Perata who was heavily favored to win.  Perata waged the most expensive mayoral campaign in Oakland’s history, outspending Quan nearly 6-1 in a crowded field of 10 candidates.

Quan’s success rested on a grassroots campaign and network of ILWU volunteers who stepped up to participate in the campaign. For many, this was their first experience in electoral politics.

“We’re thrilled that Jean Quan won the campaign, but we also won something else important because our union got more involved in the community and gained respect for our work,” said Local 10 President Richard Mead.

Rite Aid campaign makes progress

Actors portraying Rite Aid CEO John Stanley, Scrooge and Farley's ghost entertained demonstrates at the Day of Action in Oakland, CA.

Rite Aid workers in the Lancaster distribution facility made important progress during 2010 as they continued their five-year fight for a fair contract. During the past year, a network of Rite Aid employees around the country was formed, known as the “Coalition of Rite Aid Unions.” Workers in Lancaster also built stronger ties with two powerful national activist networks that decided to join the fight, each with a trac- record of getting results:  United Students Against Sweatshops and Jobs with Justice. Inside the giant distribution center in Lancaster, unity was strengthened among rank-and-file workers by deepening support among those who had previously been skeptical of what could be accomplished with a union – and by taking action inside the plant to show unity. At the negotiating table, the pace quickened as Rite Aid officials agreed to important contract provisions. One of the key roadblocks to a first contract emerged in late 2010: a scheme by Rite Aid to overcharge employees for health insurance. Like many employers, Rite Aid is trying to shift health care costs onto employees and their families. The issue has catalyzed Rite Aid workers to fight back with more actions and unity in Lancaster.

Rite Aid workers ended 2010 on a high note with an impressive “National Day of Action” that was organized on December 15^th.  The event brought together hundreds of students, workers and retirees, representing dozens of community groups, student organizations, church groups and unions at 40 actions across the United States.