Nat Labor Conf Targets Taft-Hartley/Union Busting

National Labor Conference Targets Taft-Hartley & Union Busting
250 Attend Meeting In San Francisco

by Steve Zeltzer

On December 7, 2002 over 250 trade unionists and community activists met in San Francisco to discuss, debate and educate themselves about the history and the use of Taft-Hartley today as well as the union busting going on within the US. This was the first national labor conference on the Taft-Hartley held since the 1940’s when the law was first instituted.
The conference was initiated by ILWU Local 10 and the Port Workers Solidarity Committee and it was supported by the ILWU International, the San Francisco, Alameda and South Bay Labor Councils as well as many unions in the bay area. Clarence Thomas, Secretary Treasurer of ILWU 10 greeted the delegates and declared that labor could not afford to turn away from the challenges that are being made by the government and employers.
The conference also took place on the heels of the use of the Taft-Hartley against the ILWU by the Bush administration. According to the Wall Street Journal of October 11, 2002, the Bush administration is considering using it against other unions including the UAW in 2003 with the pretext of the war against Iraq and the need to stop potential strike action.
Speakers from the plenums and the workshops outlined how the Taft-Hartley has historically been used not only to break strikes but also to support Jim Crow unionism and the open shop states of the South. Speakers from the Black Workers For Justice gave reports on the history of the use of the Taft-Hartley including its use against the Charleston Longshoremen in the Charleston 5 case. The laws used in the ILA 1422 battle were a direct result of the Taft-Hartley legislation. Fired miner and former Local D-598 president Myron Renew from South Carolina K-T workers talked about his fight to organize at the Langley mine which is part of the Imery's corporation. Headquartered in Paris, Renew pointed out that this is an international fight. (Myron K. Renew 258 Sand Rockway, Trenton, SC 29847 803-641-1479)
Another important aspect of the conference, was the issue of repression and the war. Speakers pointed out that that with Bush being given a pre-emptive Declaration of War by Congress could lead to a frontal attack on democratic and labor rights. Using a Declaration of War during the 2nd WW, Roosevelt arrested 120,000 Japanese Americans as well as 10,000 Italian Americans and trade unionists who oppose the war or support labor action against Taft-Hartley today could become targets of this Declaration of War if and when the Bush administration invades Iraq. It was also pointed out by participants that the $200 billion to pay for the war will come out of healthcare, housing and education and that the attack on public workers in both California and throughout the country was escalating daily. Privatization, contracting out and deregulation continues unabated. Conference speakers also urged that the national AFL-CIO join with trade unions throughout Europe and the rest of the world and support labor participation in demonstrations against the possible war with Iraq. The conference had ten workshop including Technology & Its Impact on the Workplace, The ILWU, Internationalism and the Global Struggle, National Security, Repression of The Labor Movement and Immigrants and A Labor Media Strategy to Fight Corporate Propaganda and Union Busting, Privatization & Deregulation at Home among others.
There were delegations of workers from United Airlines at SFO, Federal AFGE workers and UFCW members who are involved in the fight to unionize Walmart.
The conference organizers have already uploaded many of the presentations and workshops on http://www.brightpathvideo.com and plan to link it to their site http://www.portsolidarity2002.org.
Also speaking at the conference were fired Liverpool dockworkers Jimmy Nolan and Mickey Tighe. They reported on the struggle of the striking British Fire Brigade Union members and the growing class conflict with the Blair government. Greetings were read to the conference from Andy Gilchrist, General Secretary of the union and the fired Japanese Kokuro-Chiba railway workers. Julio Turra from the Executive Committee of the Brazilian trade union federation CUT also attended the conference and reported on the need to continue the fight against the FTAA and further US-IMF trade agreements. He also declared the solidarity of the Brazilian workers with the struggle of the ILWU. Mike Griffin of the War Zone Education Foundation in Decatur, Illinois reported on the reasons for the failure of the struggle at Tate Lyle and the present state of the AFL-CIO leadership. He declared that if the ILWU rejected the contract he and many other workers would be there to back the ILWU.
Following the workshops, reports were made and plans to launch a National Labor Campaign Against Taft-Hartley, Repression and Union Busting was proposed. Many of the participants of the conference were excited about the debate and discussion and concerned that the labor movement has not developed a fightback plan of action to take on the numerous assaults organized labor is facing. The need for a national political education campaign about the Taft-Hartley and to rally unions around the country to take on the Bush government’s privatization plans and open union busting with the Home Land Security Department were seen as critical if labor is to survive these attacks. Plans were also discussed about having meetings on these issues around the country. It was also pointed by speakers that many Democrats such as Democratic House Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Diane Feinstein are supporting these union-busting policies.
For further information on the conference go to http://www.portsolidarity2002.org
or to see the conference plenum and panels on the web go to http://www.brightpathvideo.com
You can also email the conference organizers at soliarity1934_2002 [at] hotmail.com

Steve Zeltzer is co-chair of the Port Workers Solidarity Committee &
a Producer of the Labor Video Project

The next meeting of the committee will be on Tuesday December 17, 2002 7:00 PM at ILWU Local 10 400 Northpoint/Mason St. SF on the 2nd Floor.