by admin | Apr 1, 2012 | March 2012 Dipatcher, Solidarity
It’s been two years since the Local 30 hall in Boron was buzzing with talk about how to beat a lengthy lockout by the international mining giant, Rio Tinto. “It feels like ‘déjà vu’ all over again,” said Local 30 member Kevin Martz, who came to the union meeting on...
by admin | Apr 1, 2012 | March 2012 Dipatcher
The life of Longshoreman, musician and poet Harry Stamper was celebrated at the ILWU Local 12 hall in Coos Bay, Oregon on March 17. Stamper passed away on March 9 at the age of 67. The celebration featured musicians and poets who shared some of Stamper’s prolific...
by admin | Apr 1, 2012 | Featured, March 2012 Dipatcher, Solidarity
The 292 New Zealand dockworkers who were illegally fired by the Ports of Auckland in the beginning of March scored an important legal victory on March 21st when their employer agreed to withdraw the termination order. The port was forced to reverse course because they...
by admin | Apr 1, 2012 | March 2012 Dipatcher
When security officers working for Kaiser in Oregon wanted to get more training and special certification, the first response from management was, “sorry, there’s no money for training.” That didn’t stop dispatcher/security officer Greg Chavez. He was interested in a...
by admin | Mar 20, 2012 | Solidarity
ILWU members organized a coordinated group of solidarity actions on March 19 to support the 292 workers who were recently – and illegally – sacked by the Ports of Auckland, Ltd. In New Zealand. In each location, ILWU members delivered a letter explaining how the use...
by admin | Mar 16, 2012 | Take Action
Dexter Cato a member of ILWU Local 91 and a life-long resident of San Francisco’s Bayview Hunter’s Point, with the help of scores of community supporters including ILWU members, retook his home that had been foreclosed on by Wells Fargo in 2010. Cato and his family...
by admin | Mar 9, 2012 | February 2012 Dispatcher
Hundreds of longshore workers, family and community members gathered at the Maritime Center in Vancouver on Sunday, March 4 to honor the life of ILWU leader Frank Kennedy who passed on February 18. ILWU Canada President Tom Dufresne was among the 18 speakers who...
by admin | Mar 9, 2012 | Featured, February 2012 Dispatcher
As the Dispatcher goes to press, a dramatic escalation is occurring at the Ports of Auckland in New Zealand where 292 striking dockworkers have been notified that they are “redundant” and will be terminated, according to a letter from the private employer who...
by admin | Mar 8, 2012 | February 2012 Dispatcher, Remembering Our History
On November 30th, Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, two activists officers from Local 37 were added to the roster of heroes and martyrs of the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani in the Philippines, 30 years after their assassination by an agent of Philippine dictator Ferdinand...
by admin | Mar 8, 2012 | February 2012 Dispatcher
Dozens of delegates, pensioners and supporters gathered on Saturday, March 3 for the Local 6 65th annual convention in Oakland. Disappearing jobs Decades of declining union manufacturing and warehousing jobs have put pressure on the proud Bay Area local that...
