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May Day San Francisco 2008
May Day event in solidarity with the ILWU calling for Peace and the end of the War in Iraq.
A few pictures of the rally and the action in front of the Recruiting Station near Justin herman Plaza
A few pictures of the rally and the action in front of the Recruiting Station near Justin herman Plaza
Thursday May 1st 2008 was a tremendous day of action against the war.
The ILWU closed all the ports on the west side of the country, from California up thru Washington and Oregon.
In San Francisco, various peace groups and immigrant rights groups stood by in solidarity with the ILWU and marched from the Union Hall near Embarcadero down to Justin Herman Plaza, where a second rally took place.
Union leaders and various peace groups took to the stage blending their voices together to form a beautiful collage of the peace movement and the country 's mood in general.
Cindy Sheehan was there to lend her voice of support.
Veterans for Peace and CodePink were also among the groups represented.
Earlier in the day, a group of activists, including Toby from CodePink, went to the Oakland Docks to pursuade truckers to honor the general strike. Some truckers agreed to not deliver their loads, while others helped to create a work slowdown by delivering their loads up to half an hour late.
The docks themselves were virtually a ghost town, as can be seen on some of the shots taken by this writer's camera while crossing the bay on the ferry.
Even on the Ferry ride over, the sounds of "Solidarity Forever" could be heard echoing across the bay from the Ferry passengers.
As the rally wound down, a splinter group marched to the Recruiting office nearby and put a banner across the front of the door while speaking and chanting anti war slogans.
The ILWU closed all the ports on the west side of the country, from California up thru Washington and Oregon.
In San Francisco, various peace groups and immigrant rights groups stood by in solidarity with the ILWU and marched from the Union Hall near Embarcadero down to Justin Herman Plaza, where a second rally took place.
Union leaders and various peace groups took to the stage blending their voices together to form a beautiful collage of the peace movement and the country 's mood in general.
Cindy Sheehan was there to lend her voice of support.
Veterans for Peace and CodePink were also among the groups represented.
Earlier in the day, a group of activists, including Toby from CodePink, went to the Oakland Docks to pursuade truckers to honor the general strike. Some truckers agreed to not deliver their loads, while others helped to create a work slowdown by delivering their loads up to half an hour late.
The docks themselves were virtually a ghost town, as can be seen on some of the shots taken by this writer's camera while crossing the bay on the ferry.
Even on the Ferry ride over, the sounds of "Solidarity Forever" could be heard echoing across the bay from the Ferry passengers.
As the rally wound down, a splinter group marched to the Recruiting office nearby and put a banner across the front of the door while speaking and chanting anti war slogans.
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Nice symbolic gesture. But, where do we go from here?
Another May Day protest in '09? How exciting.
Another May Day protest in '09? How exciting.
The ILWU's one day labor strike for peace directly affected the profits of the entire capitalist class as the American economy is very dependent on the billions of dollars of goods shipped to and from the United States. A significant percentage of the war profits were also affected as the goods for the war against the people of Iraq and Afghanistan are mostly shipped from the West Coast ports. Above all, this milestone action has set a powerful action to the entire workingclass of what is to be done to put an end to war and the war economy, namely directly affect the profits of the war profiteers by withholding our labor. As the saying goes, when labor withdraws its hand, nothing moves. This message of what is to be done to stop the war profits and the power of class solidarity was carried out by those most directly affected by the blood for oil wars abroad and their detrimental effects on the economy at home. IN OTHER WORDS, THE WORKINGCLASS OF THE UNITED STATES NOW FINALLY REALIZES THAT THERE IS NO AMERICAN DREAM AND IT IS THROUGH LABOR ACTIONS THAT WE CAN PUT AN END TO THE PRIVATE PROFIT WAR ECONOMY. We have not seen such understanding in this country since the Great Depression of the 1930s. As the housing crisis worsens with thousands more foreclosures due to being unable to pay subprime loans, and as the state and federal budgets for all social services, education and medical care are cut, we can expect to see more labor solidarity actions nationwide including a national labor general strike, and the ILWU has set the example of what can be done and how to do it. This is a moment in history that we can all savor as it has taken the many struggles of the past 60 plus years to achieve this extraordinary milestone. To put it simply, this was a dream come true and I am certainly glad to be a witness to it. The struggle continues. History is with us; we shall win!
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