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4PM Round 2: Oakland Docks Picket Israeli Ship & Paul Larudee Flotilla Participant Comment
Successful action this am needs strong finish this afternoon. Meet at the West Oakland BART 4pm
4:00 Pacific Daylight Time. For those of you who are in the Bay Area, please try to come. Forgive if this email is redundant. Also, watch video streaming of the picket by going to http://www.freepalestinemovement.org...Janet
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: PAUL LARUDEE
Sent: Sun, June 20, 2010 11:19:55 AM
Subject: URGENT: BE AT OAKLAND PORT BERTH 58 AT 4:00 THIS AFTERNOON
This morning was the first half of a victory. 1,000 picketers from around the SF Bay. The first shift [of dockworkers] for unloading the Israeli ZIM Line ship was cancelled. That is historic, but only if we finish the job by being there again at 4:00 this afternoon and staying until at least 8:00 p.m.
Some of the people who were there this morning will not come this afternoon, which makes it all that much more important for those of you who were not there to come this afternoon. It would be better to have 2,000 people. Unlike this morning, the BART trains will be running. You can come to the West Oakland station early, and there will be cars to drive you. There will be media this afternoon. It is better for them to see a large crowd at each of the gates to the berth.
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO BE PRESENT AT THIS HISTORIC EVENT. You will talk about it for the rest of your life. We are the first to stop the unloading of an Israeli ship in the U.S., but we will not be the last. See you there!
--- On Sat, 6/19/10, ANSWER SF Alerts wrote:
From: ANSWER SF Alerts
Subject: Transportation/logistics info for June 20 Oakland port picket
To: larudee [at] pacbell.net
Date: Saturday, June 19, 2010, 5:00 AM
Alameda & SF County Labor Councils: “All Out for June 20”
Join Labor/Community Mass Picket of Israeli Zim Lines Ship
Logistics/Transportation Details Follow Message
Sunday, June 20, 5:30am
Berth 58, Port of Oakland
Protest Israel’s Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla!
Boycott Israeli Ships and Goods!
Lift the Blockade NOW – Let Gaza Live!
Bring Down Israel's Apartheid Wall!
Unions, labor federations and other organizations around the world have condemned Israel ’s deadly attack against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on May 31, 2010. Nine people were killed and dozens seriously injured in the Israeli commando attack in international waters on ships attempting to bring humanitarian cargo to the suffering and blockaded people of Gaza. Six people aboard the ships are still missing and presumed dead.
Israel maintains a deadly blockade against 1.5 million people in Gaza, with claims ranging from the control of weapons to achieving demographic superiority in favor of Israel ’s occupation. The construction of the apartheid wall in the West Bank aims to create Jewish-only colonies on Palestinian territories. Israel ’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, rose to prominence calling for the expulsion of the indigenous Palestinian people living in the borders of the Israeli green line.
Along with dock workers from Sweden and Norway, calls from Malaysia, and following previous actions from liberated South Africa, we will picket the arrival of Israel’s Zim ship liner. In San Francisco in 1984, a picket line and refusal by dockworkers to unload a ship carrying South African cargo was a key event in mobilizing the anti-apartheid movement worldwide. We will be picketing the Zim ship and asking the workers to do the same with apartheid Israel.
An Injury to One is an Injury to All
Israeli apartheid must fall!
We call on everyone who stands for justice and against occupation and apartheid to join the June 20 mass picket at the Port of Oakland.
Sponsored by: Labor / Community Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People:
Arab American Union Members Council, ANSWER- Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, Palestine Youth Network, US Palestine Community Network, Al Awda- Right to Return Coalition, Arab Youth Organization, MECA-Middle East Children's Alliance, SJP-Students for Justice in Palestine, AROC-Arab Resource and Organizing Center, ISM-International Solidarity Movement, San Jose Peace and Justice Center, International Socialist Organization, Peace and Freedom Party – SF & Contra Costa Counties, Transport Workers Solidarity Committee, Bay Area US Labor Against the War, Bay Area Committee for Peace and Justice, Barrio Unido, Movement for Unconditional Amnesty for All Immigrant Workers, National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupation, Friends of Deir Ibzi’a, Socialist Viewpoint, FMLN in Northern California, San Jose Justice for Palestinians, Code Pink – SF, World Can’t Wait – SF, International Action Center, Uhuru Solidarity Movement, Skyline Against Cuts, Industrial Workers of the World –SF, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee, Party for Socialism and Liberation, QUIT!- Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism, Fred Hirsch, Executive Board Member of Plumbers & Fitters Local 393 & Delegate to South Bay Labor Council, Progressive Democrats of the East Bay, La Voz de los Trabaja-dores, Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism – No. Calif., National Committee to Free the Cuban Five, and many labor activists in the Bay Area (partial list)
Plan of the Day
A mass picket line calling for a boycott of Israeli ships and goods is planned to start at 5:30 a.m. at Berth 58 in the Port of Oakland. The organizers are calling for a spirited, united and disciplined mass picket to be in place before any of the ILWU dockworkers are scheduled to arrive to work to load/unload an Israeli Zim Lines ship scheduled to arrive in port that day.
VERY IMPORTANT: The Labor/Community Committee which has organized the June 20 picket line calls on everyone who is bringing their own signs and banners to adhere to the central messages of the picket which are encapsulated in the slogans at the top of this email.
Important Transportation Information
Berth 58 at the Stevedore Services of America terminal is on Middle Harbor Rd., in the Port of Oakland. The cross street is Maritime St.
Berth 58 is about a mile from the West Oakland BART station. BART does not begin running on Sundays until 8:00 a.m. There is free parking available at the BART station and on nearby streets.
We urge as many people as possible to carpool. The carpool drivers should drop their passengers off at the corner of Middle Harbor and Maritime St. and then proceed to the BART station to park. Drivers may be asked to shuttle more people from BART to the picket line. The drivers will be shuttled to the picket line after they park at the BART station.
Car pooling coordination: Chris, 510-282-7032
Driving Directions to Berth 58
From San Francisco: Take the connector exit toward I880 right after coming off the Bay Bridge. Take the first exit off the connector, West Grand Ave/Maritime St. Turn right onto Maritime St. and follow Maritime to the intersection of Maritime and Middle Harbor Rd. After dropping off passengers, continue east on Middle Harbor Rd. Middle Harbor turns into Adeline, continue on Adeline a short distance and turn left on 7th St., go 2 blocks to the West Oakland BART Station.
From Oakland: Follow Adeline St. south into the port, where it turns into Middle Harbor Rd. Follow Middle Harbor Rd. to the Berth 58, corner of Maritime St. See directions above for getting back to the W. Oakland BART station.
From South Bay: Take I880 north to the Market St. exit toward the Harbor Terminals. Turn left onto Adeline St. Adeline turns into Middle Harbor Road, go about 1 mile to the intersection of Maritime St./Berth 58.
From Berkeley/Richmond/North Bay/Sacramento, etc: Take I-80 west to Exit 8A, West Grand Ave. toward Maritime St. Turn right onto Maritime St, go 2 miles to intersection of Middle Harbor Rd./Berth 58.
For drivers going directly to West Oakland BART: West Oakland BART is at the corner of 7th St. and Mandela Parkway.
Link to map of West Oakland
What to Bring
Sunday will long day. Everyone is urged to bring water, sandwiches, energy bars, etc. The forecast is for a sunny day, high 73, so people may want to bring sunscreen. There will be a medical and legal observer teams on site. Porta-toilets will be available close to the site of the picket line.
For Updates and More Information
There are two websites that will have the most updated information on the June 20 picket:
For updates on the actions:
http://www.transportworkers.org
http://www.ANSWERsf.org
Legal Hotline: 415-285-1011 (National Lawyers Guild)
For more information: 415-821-6545 (ANSWER Coalition)
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: PAUL LARUDEE
Sent: Sun, June 20, 2010 11:19:55 AM
Subject: URGENT: BE AT OAKLAND PORT BERTH 58 AT 4:00 THIS AFTERNOON
This morning was the first half of a victory. 1,000 picketers from around the SF Bay. The first shift [of dockworkers] for unloading the Israeli ZIM Line ship was cancelled. That is historic, but only if we finish the job by being there again at 4:00 this afternoon and staying until at least 8:00 p.m.
Some of the people who were there this morning will not come this afternoon, which makes it all that much more important for those of you who were not there to come this afternoon. It would be better to have 2,000 people. Unlike this morning, the BART trains will be running. You can come to the West Oakland station early, and there will be cars to drive you. There will be media this afternoon. It is better for them to see a large crowd at each of the gates to the berth.
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO BE PRESENT AT THIS HISTORIC EVENT. You will talk about it for the rest of your life. We are the first to stop the unloading of an Israeli ship in the U.S., but we will not be the last. See you there!
--- On Sat, 6/19/10, ANSWER SF Alerts wrote:
From: ANSWER SF Alerts
Subject: Transportation/logistics info for June 20 Oakland port picket
To: larudee [at] pacbell.net
Date: Saturday, June 19, 2010, 5:00 AM
Alameda & SF County Labor Councils: “All Out for June 20”
Join Labor/Community Mass Picket of Israeli Zim Lines Ship
Logistics/Transportation Details Follow Message
Sunday, June 20, 5:30am
Berth 58, Port of Oakland
Protest Israel’s Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla!
Boycott Israeli Ships and Goods!
Lift the Blockade NOW – Let Gaza Live!
Bring Down Israel's Apartheid Wall!
Unions, labor federations and other organizations around the world have condemned Israel ’s deadly attack against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on May 31, 2010. Nine people were killed and dozens seriously injured in the Israeli commando attack in international waters on ships attempting to bring humanitarian cargo to the suffering and blockaded people of Gaza. Six people aboard the ships are still missing and presumed dead.
Israel maintains a deadly blockade against 1.5 million people in Gaza, with claims ranging from the control of weapons to achieving demographic superiority in favor of Israel ’s occupation. The construction of the apartheid wall in the West Bank aims to create Jewish-only colonies on Palestinian territories. Israel ’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, rose to prominence calling for the expulsion of the indigenous Palestinian people living in the borders of the Israeli green line.
Along with dock workers from Sweden and Norway, calls from Malaysia, and following previous actions from liberated South Africa, we will picket the arrival of Israel’s Zim ship liner. In San Francisco in 1984, a picket line and refusal by dockworkers to unload a ship carrying South African cargo was a key event in mobilizing the anti-apartheid movement worldwide. We will be picketing the Zim ship and asking the workers to do the same with apartheid Israel.
An Injury to One is an Injury to All
Israeli apartheid must fall!
We call on everyone who stands for justice and against occupation and apartheid to join the June 20 mass picket at the Port of Oakland.
Sponsored by: Labor / Community Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People:
Arab American Union Members Council, ANSWER- Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, Palestine Youth Network, US Palestine Community Network, Al Awda- Right to Return Coalition, Arab Youth Organization, MECA-Middle East Children's Alliance, SJP-Students for Justice in Palestine, AROC-Arab Resource and Organizing Center, ISM-International Solidarity Movement, San Jose Peace and Justice Center, International Socialist Organization, Peace and Freedom Party – SF & Contra Costa Counties, Transport Workers Solidarity Committee, Bay Area US Labor Against the War, Bay Area Committee for Peace and Justice, Barrio Unido, Movement for Unconditional Amnesty for All Immigrant Workers, National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupation, Friends of Deir Ibzi’a, Socialist Viewpoint, FMLN in Northern California, San Jose Justice for Palestinians, Code Pink – SF, World Can’t Wait – SF, International Action Center, Uhuru Solidarity Movement, Skyline Against Cuts, Industrial Workers of the World –SF, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee, Party for Socialism and Liberation, QUIT!- Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism, Fred Hirsch, Executive Board Member of Plumbers & Fitters Local 393 & Delegate to South Bay Labor Council, Progressive Democrats of the East Bay, La Voz de los Trabaja-dores, Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism – No. Calif., National Committee to Free the Cuban Five, and many labor activists in the Bay Area (partial list)
Plan of the Day
A mass picket line calling for a boycott of Israeli ships and goods is planned to start at 5:30 a.m. at Berth 58 in the Port of Oakland. The organizers are calling for a spirited, united and disciplined mass picket to be in place before any of the ILWU dockworkers are scheduled to arrive to work to load/unload an Israeli Zim Lines ship scheduled to arrive in port that day.
VERY IMPORTANT: The Labor/Community Committee which has organized the June 20 picket line calls on everyone who is bringing their own signs and banners to adhere to the central messages of the picket which are encapsulated in the slogans at the top of this email.
Important Transportation Information
Berth 58 at the Stevedore Services of America terminal is on Middle Harbor Rd., in the Port of Oakland. The cross street is Maritime St.
Berth 58 is about a mile from the West Oakland BART station. BART does not begin running on Sundays until 8:00 a.m. There is free parking available at the BART station and on nearby streets.
We urge as many people as possible to carpool. The carpool drivers should drop their passengers off at the corner of Middle Harbor and Maritime St. and then proceed to the BART station to park. Drivers may be asked to shuttle more people from BART to the picket line. The drivers will be shuttled to the picket line after they park at the BART station.
Car pooling coordination: Chris, 510-282-7032
Driving Directions to Berth 58
From San Francisco: Take the connector exit toward I880 right after coming off the Bay Bridge. Take the first exit off the connector, West Grand Ave/Maritime St. Turn right onto Maritime St. and follow Maritime to the intersection of Maritime and Middle Harbor Rd. After dropping off passengers, continue east on Middle Harbor Rd. Middle Harbor turns into Adeline, continue on Adeline a short distance and turn left on 7th St., go 2 blocks to the West Oakland BART Station.
From Oakland: Follow Adeline St. south into the port, where it turns into Middle Harbor Rd. Follow Middle Harbor Rd. to the Berth 58, corner of Maritime St. See directions above for getting back to the W. Oakland BART station.
From South Bay: Take I880 north to the Market St. exit toward the Harbor Terminals. Turn left onto Adeline St. Adeline turns into Middle Harbor Road, go about 1 mile to the intersection of Maritime St./Berth 58.
From Berkeley/Richmond/North Bay/Sacramento, etc: Take I-80 west to Exit 8A, West Grand Ave. toward Maritime St. Turn right onto Maritime St, go 2 miles to intersection of Middle Harbor Rd./Berth 58.
For drivers going directly to West Oakland BART: West Oakland BART is at the corner of 7th St. and Mandela Parkway.
Link to map of West Oakland
What to Bring
Sunday will long day. Everyone is urged to bring water, sandwiches, energy bars, etc. The forecast is for a sunny day, high 73, so people may want to bring sunscreen. There will be a medical and legal observer teams on site. Porta-toilets will be available close to the site of the picket line.
For Updates and More Information
There are two websites that will have the most updated information on the June 20 picket:
For updates on the actions:
http://www.transportworkers.org
http://www.ANSWERsf.org
Legal Hotline: 415-285-1011 (National Lawyers Guild)
For more information: 415-821-6545 (ANSWER Coalition)
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
There were a number of us present at this picket line, who were also involved in the anti-Apartheid actions on the docks in the 1980's.
Here's a correction about what happened in 1984 from my dad, who I had the great honor to walk another historic picket line with this Fathers Day:
A "picket line" played no role in the 11 day boycott of South African cargo on the Nedlloyd Kimberley at pier 80 in San Francisco in 1984. The large number of people who assembled twice daily at the pier gates were there in support of the longshoremen who were twice daily dispatched to the ship, went to the ship, looked at the South African cargo, told supervisors that they were refusing to handle the cargo and then went home. This was a longshore workers initiated and implemented action. A picket line is set up to prevent workers or scabs from entering the work site. This was NOT the scenario in 1984.
In 1986, when longshore ILWU Local 10 was still under a federal court injunction against taking concerted union action on apartheid cargo a large group of anti-apartheid activists blockaded the entrance to pier 80 when another Nedlloyd Line vessel was docked with South African cargo. For two shifts the blockaders fought off police attacks. The contract area arbitrator ruled that the longshoremen were justified in not entering the pier on the basis of the "health and safety" provisions of the contract. On the second day the blockade was broken by Mayor Dianne Feinstein's Tac Squad who arrested over a hundred demonstrators including myself, ending the blockade.
I was one of the two longshoremen along with Brother Leo Robinson who were in overall charge of implementing the 1984 boycott action by longshoremen. We were singled out as the two main "co-conspirators" for the action in the Federal Court injunction which ended the strike. It was my motion which was adopted as amended by the Local membership which authorized the boycott.
Perpetuation of this myth that longshoremen did not work the South African cargo on the Nedlloyd Kimberley for 11 days because they were prevented from going to work by a picket denigrates the courage and devotion to international solidarity expressed by the entire San Francisco longshore local who knew that what they were doing was in violation of the Taft-Hartley "slave labor" law and the contract with the employers. Ships Clerk Local 34 also played a key role in that illegal strike action.
Let's not rewrite history!
Howard Keylor (retired ILWU Local 10)
Here's a correction about what happened in 1984 from my dad, who I had the great honor to walk another historic picket line with this Fathers Day:
A "picket line" played no role in the 11 day boycott of South African cargo on the Nedlloyd Kimberley at pier 80 in San Francisco in 1984. The large number of people who assembled twice daily at the pier gates were there in support of the longshoremen who were twice daily dispatched to the ship, went to the ship, looked at the South African cargo, told supervisors that they were refusing to handle the cargo and then went home. This was a longshore workers initiated and implemented action. A picket line is set up to prevent workers or scabs from entering the work site. This was NOT the scenario in 1984.
In 1986, when longshore ILWU Local 10 was still under a federal court injunction against taking concerted union action on apartheid cargo a large group of anti-apartheid activists blockaded the entrance to pier 80 when another Nedlloyd Line vessel was docked with South African cargo. For two shifts the blockaders fought off police attacks. The contract area arbitrator ruled that the longshoremen were justified in not entering the pier on the basis of the "health and safety" provisions of the contract. On the second day the blockade was broken by Mayor Dianne Feinstein's Tac Squad who arrested over a hundred demonstrators including myself, ending the blockade.
I was one of the two longshoremen along with Brother Leo Robinson who were in overall charge of implementing the 1984 boycott action by longshoremen. We were singled out as the two main "co-conspirators" for the action in the Federal Court injunction which ended the strike. It was my motion which was adopted as amended by the Local membership which authorized the boycott.
Perpetuation of this myth that longshoremen did not work the South African cargo on the Nedlloyd Kimberley for 11 days because they were prevented from going to work by a picket denigrates the courage and devotion to international solidarity expressed by the entire San Francisco longshore local who knew that what they were doing was in violation of the Taft-Hartley "slave labor" law and the contract with the employers. Ships Clerk Local 34 also played a key role in that illegal strike action.
Let's not rewrite history!
Howard Keylor (retired ILWU Local 10)
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