Help Stop Union Busting In Longview, Washington; ILWU:
`Prepare to take action when EGT vessel arrives'

* Call to Action - Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties Central Labor
Council (Longview, Washington)
* ILWU Pres. McEllrath: `Prepare to take action when EGT
vessel arrives'

===

Kyle Mackey, Secretary Treasurer of the Cowlitz Wahkiakum
Counties Central Labor Council in Washington State and a
member of ILWU Local 21, has distributed this Call to
Action.  It is followed by the resolution passed on January
2, 2012, by that Labor Council.

ILWU International President McElrath's statement is here:
http://tinyurl.com/6qvwkfm

Messages of solidarity and donations can be sent to: 
ILWU Local 21,
617-14th Avenue, Longview, WA 98632
Dan Coffman, President, Shelly Porter, Sec.-Treas.
phone: 360.423.0950, fax: 360.423.5498
email:  [log in to unmask]


A Call to Action:

It is estimated, sometime in late January or early February
the [scab] EGT facility at the port of Longview will receive
its first grain ship to be loaded at its berth. The name and
timing of this ship will undoubtedly be kept secret until
the last possible moment. It is likely there will be a few
days to as little as 24 hours notice of when the ship will
dock. Notification will be given via the Internet and any
other relevant means of networking throughout the country.

We are imploring all able working class people willing to
take time out of his or her own lives, to come to Longview,
Washington for a historic protest.

This is the time for workers everywhere to take a stand.
Unions and the working class standard of living that have
benefited from collective bargaining for so long are in
danger of being extracted completely. You can see this
systematically taking place over the last 30 years or
longer, and especially in recent times. Unions have lost
ground over this period of time due to unjust anti-labor
laws, corporate influence on the government, and complacency
on the part of organized labor among other reasons.

We recognize the danger of, and view the government attack
on collective bargaining of public employees as a warning
shot to labor as a whole. Wisconsin was ground zero and the
spark that awoke the sleeping giant that is labor. Workers
are beginning to remember there is indeed strength in
numbers, regardless of how many unjust laws are made to
divide us.

We have not been pacified long enough, as to give up our
constitutional rights or to give up all the gains our
forefathers fought and died to achieve over the last hundred
years. People inherently ask WHY? Why should I, or others
come to the aid of the ILWU? Why should I care, and what
does it matter if this ship gets loaded and they lose this
struggle?

The ILWU has a proud history of being arguably the strongest
labor union in the world for almost 80 years. The secret of
this success lies in the bottom up, rank and file democratic
structure. This empowers and involves every member. And the
intelligence and foresight of the leaders who knew without
unity on the entire west coast and unity with the working
class, there was no strength.

EGT is attempting to break the ILWU. EGT is operating on
public port property where the ILWU have worked for decades.
They are in violation of their lease agreement, which states
that the ILWU is to be the workforce on port property.
Longshoremen have done work in port grain elevators before
the ILWU was formed [in the 1930s]. If EGT succeeds, they
will have essentially broken the ILWU.

First, they will set a precedent that work on public port
docks is no longer automatically Longshore Jurisdiction.
Then within less than a year, when the northwest grain
handlers agreement is set to be negotiated, all the other
grain elevators will seek to either go non-ILWU or will seek
to match the eroded standard EGT creates. Shortly thereafter
in 2014, the ILWU will negotiate its master contract with
the Pacific Maritime Association. If they lose, you can bet
the PMA will take notice and hit hard.

Most importantly to note is that grain accounts for 30% of
the ILWU health and welfare package. If you lose a third of
your bargaining power and your traditional jurisdiction on
port property, what are you left with? Either no ILWU, or a
union that would resemble nothing like what it once was.
There would be little or no collective power up and down the
west coast, and no way to fight for social justice or defend
the working class, just as the ILWU has done for so long, in
its entrenched and strategic position at the gates of
international commerce.

Longshoremen have traditionally been a rough and tough
bunch, but they always make sure to educate their members on
the importance of history, unity and the power of collective
bargaining. People nowadays forget or have not been taught
their own history, they forget what it means to cross a
picket line, and become a scab the rest of their life. For
30 years or more we have been sliding downhill, while some
would argue unions have outlived their time. The reality is
unions are the last defense when the imperfect system of
checks and balances within our government fails to serve the
interests of the workers.

The class struggle never really goes away. Right now the
rich and the ruling class are attempting to deal a blow that
labor might never recover from. The ILWU has always been the
vanguard of labor everywhere. Today, the ILWU's value of "An
Injury to One, Is an Injury to All" couldn't be any more
pertinent for all organizations. So please, if you believe
in a better future for the 99% of us that work for a living,
do what you can to support ILWU Local 21.

"The most important word in the language of the working
class is solidarity."- Harry Bridges

In Solidarity,

Kyle Mackey, Secretary/Treasurer Cowlitz -Wahkiakum Counties
Central Labor
Council
ILWU Local 21 Member



RESOLUTION of the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties (Washington )
Central Labor Council 
Adopted January 2, 2012

Whereas: the ILWU has always been at the forefront in the
struggle for social justice and better working conditions.
And,

Whereas: ILWU Local 21 has inspired working people
worldwide. And,

Whereas: ILWU jurisdiction is under an unprecedented attack.
And,

Whereas: It is clear to all working people that EGT is
seeking to race to the bottom and destroy a long history of
good family wage jobs throughout the area. And,

Whereas: The Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties Central Labor
Council, hereinafter called the council, recognize the
blatant union busting tactics of EGT, as well, the danger of
losing the ILWU as a powerful ally for the working class.
And,

Be it Resolved: that this Council call out to friends of
labor and the "99%" everywhere to come to the aid of ILWU
Local 21, and to support them in any way possible in their
fight against multi national conglomerate EGT. And,

Be it further Resolved: that this Council request that
anyone willing to participate in a community and labor
protest in Longview , Washington of the first EGT grain
ship, do so when called upon by this body. And,

Finally be it Resolved: that the Council forward this
resolution to all local unions, the Washington State Labor
Council, Oregon Federation of Labor, California Labor
Federation, the AFL-CIO, and all other relevant
organizations.

Respectfully submitted,

Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties Central Labor Council Executive
Board

[Note: This is the Central Labor Council for the Longview ,
WA area.]

Distributed by:

Transport Workers Solidarity Committee
http://www.transportworkers.org/node/2094

=====

ILWU Pres. McEllrath: `Prepare to take action when EGT vessel arrives'

Click here to download a pdf of this letter.
http://www.longshoreshippingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/01-03-12-McEllrath-Memo-to-All-Longshore-Division-Locals-Re-EGT-in-the-Pacific-Northwest.pdf

January 3, 2012

To: All Longshore, Clerk, and Walking Boss/Foreman Locals

Brothers and Sisters:

We are currently engaged in a labor dispute with one of our
employers, EGT, in the Pacific Northwest. EGT continues to
refuse to return to the negotiating table with Local 21
after walking away from nearly two years of direct contract
negotiations over the terms of employment for the longshore
workers that EGT would be employing at its new facility in
the very location on public port property that longshore
workers have been performing longshore work for decades.

We believe that at some point this month a vessel will call
at the EGT facility in Longview, Washington. We have been
told that this vessel will be escorted by armed United
States Coast Guard, including the use of small vessels and
helicopters, from the mouth of the Columbia River to the EGT
facility and that the facility itself will be protected by a
full complement of local law enforcement from multiple
jurisdictions.

The purpose of this letter is to inform and prepare the
Longshore Division locals for the action that we will take
when that vessel calls at EGT's facility.

Locals need to be aware of the narrow path that we must cut
through a federal labor law (the Taft-Hartley Act) that
criminalizes worker solidarity, outlaws labor's most
effective tools, and protects commerce while severely
restricting unions. Because Local 21's labor dispute is with
EGT, federal labor law entitles the Local to conduct
picketing and other collective actions directed at EGT.
Further, while the NLRB, which administers Taft-Hartley,
sought and received an injunction in federal court on behalf
of EGT against the ILWU and its members, the federal court
denied the NLRB's motion to ban picketing at the EGT
facility in Longview, preserving our First Amendment rights
to peacefully picket the company.

The NLRB is currently seeking a second injunction, this time
on behalf of PMA, on the theory that any disruption of work
by the ILWU on the West Coast docks at the same time that
the Union is protesting EGT constitutes a violation of Taft-
Hartley. However, we have no dispute with PMA or its member
companies. Thus, any showing of support for Local 21 at the
time that a vessel calls at the EGT facility must be
measured to ensure that the West Coast ports have sufficient
manpower so as not to impact cargo movement for PMA member
companies. A call for a protest of EGT is not a call for a
shutdown of West Coast ports and must not result in one.

In addition, be aware that officers, rank and file, and
union supporters have been aggressively arrested or summoned
to court by the hundreds for demonstrating against EGT. We
were also falsely accused of hostage taking by a local
police chief and subject to numerous other false
characterizations as criminals and thugs. We are now being
methodically and maliciously prosecuted for exercising our
free speech rights, prosecution designed to lead to jail
time, prohibition on future lawful picketing, and permanent
criminal records. In essence, the company that promised good
local jobs and then outsourced them is being protected by
law enforcement, which means that middle class taxpayer
dollars are subsidizing union busting multinational
corporate giant EGT's fight against the ILWU and Longview's
working community.

The goal of any demonstration that takes place corresponding
with the arrival of a vessel will be designed to send the
following message to EGT and local and federal law
enforcement: EGT is threatening the stability of the local
community and the Pacific Northwest grain export industry;
and law enforcements' collusion with EGT is destroying the
public's trust.

When the time comes, the International Officers and the
Coast Committee will communicate with the Longshore Division
locals and publicize action that supporters of the ILWU can
take to advance the cause against EGT and protest government
collusion to protect commerce at the expense of workers and
community. We fully understand that the ILWU's labor dispute
with EGT is symbolic of what is wrong in the United States
today. Corporations, no matter how harmful the conduct to
society, enjoy full state and federal protection while
workers and the middle class get treated as criminals for
trying to protect their jobs and communities. However,
please take extreme caution when dealing with supporters of
non-ILWU sanctioned calls to action relative to EGT.
Everything is at stake for the community of Longview and our
members - including personal freedom. We welcome outside
support for our efforts against EGT but must make effective
use of collective power.

We will communicate with the locals as to the estimated time
of the arrival of the vessel.

In Solidarity,

Robert McEllrath 
International President

cc: Richard Austin, President PCPA

RMcE/akj 
cwa59321

==========

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