West Coast dockworkers go on strike

ILWU takes May Day off in anti-war protest

By Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 5/1/2008 11:57:00 AM

Ocean freight coming in through the West Coast is at a standstill as more than 29,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) stayed home from work today at more than 29 West Coast ports.

The walkout is being billed as a May Day anti-war protest by dockworkers. In a statement on its web site, ILWU’s President Bob McEllrath said, “We’re supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it’s time to end the war in Iraq.”

In the statement, McEllrath says rank-and-file members decided in early February to take action on May 1 and that employers were notified of the plan, “but refused to accommodate the union’s request despite plenty of advance notice.”

According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram an arbitrator issued a ruling Wednesday ordering the International Longshore and Warehouse Union to “tell its members that they must report to work today, rather than take the day off to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

But the ILWU still sent an automated telephone message to dockworkers on Wednesday, reminding them of the work stoppage, the Press-Telegram reports.

However, the Pacific Maritime Association, which negotiates with the union on behalf of the ports, feels the strike is merely an advanced negotiating tactic ahead of its upcoming contract. In a statement, the PMA points out that “This work-stoppage, illegal under the ILWU-Pacific Maritime Association contract, comes just two months prior to the expiration of the current labor agreement.”

In an Associated Press report, Port of Seattle spokeswoman Charla Skaggs and Port of Tacoma spokesman Mike Wasem say it’s an issue between the Union and the PMA and not an anti-war protest.

Today’s work stoppage will no doubt remind shippers and supply chain managers of the havoc the ILWU wreaked when it struck in 2002 and caused massive shipment delays.