Major Portworkers Rally at Final Hours of Contracts

As contract negotiations reach their final hours, and the possibility of a shutdown of ports along the entire West Coast looms, portworkers will hold a major rally at Port View Park (end of 7th Street), Port of Oakland at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 27, 2002. The rally is sponsored by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and co-sponsored by the Teamsters Port Division and the International
Longshoremen’s Association.

National and international labor leaders, including James Hoffa, Jr. (president, Teamsters), Jim Spinosa (president, ILWU International), John Bowers (president, ILA International), Richard Trumka (Secretary-Treasurer, AFL-CIO) and Wilson Borja Diaz (president, Fenalstrase, Columbia), will speak. Solidarity rallies will also happen at ports along the entire West Coast.

On June 30, contracts with the Pacific Maritime Association expire for nearly all West Coast maritime workers’ unions, including over 10,000 longshore workers, sailors, firemen, mates, engineers and maintenance
workers. PMA has been stonewalling the negotiations and is threatening a lockout of the unions. At issue are PMA’s attempt to roll back health benefits, prevent cost-of-living increases in pensions, circumvent
important jurisdiction issues, eliminate the union hiring hall, and avoid measures that would provide real security against terrorism via our ports.

It appears this is a full-scale effort by PMA to break the power of the portworkers’ unions. Walmart now essentially controls the PMA, and this part of the ever-growing reach of Walmart's anti-worker, anti-union policies.

From the 1934 General Strike and before, portworkers’ unions have a long and proud history of racial integration, internal democracy, and international solidarity.