{"id":4128,"date":"2011-09-11T01:47:58","date_gmt":"2011-09-11T08:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?p=4128"},"modified":"2011-09-12T17:39:51","modified_gmt":"2011-09-13T00:39:51","slug":"longview-labor-dispute-wlongshore-union-erupts-in-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/longview-labor-dispute-wlongshore-union-erupts-in-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Longview Labor Dispute w\/Longshore Union Erupts in Violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some may recall organized labor turning its back on Mason County residents in our own struggle against a rapacious internationally owned corporation (Adage) intent on destroying the community’s health, environment, and quality of life with the promise of “jobs, jobs, jobs!” One local activist warned our blue collar brethren of the need to remain each other’s natural allies given the common thread running through the community and history of organized labor. Despite such advised prudence and the invitation to stand in solidarity with this community, after being publicly asked since when labor stood with corporate interests instead of with the people, one union official from the Vancouver region of Washington opined such history was practically ancient and no longer relevant in the newly formed bond labor and corporate interests found in each other’s arms.<\/p>\n

Now Washington’s longshoremen are angry–very angry, violently so…and with good reason. They’ve been stabbed in the back by the very corporate interests the above mentioned apologist so glibly defended as Mason County residents crowded against the wall pleaded for solidarity. The following ironic excerpts explaining the angst and violence was taken from an article published in THE STAND on 9-8-11 by David Groves:<\/p>\n

Angry Longshore Workers in Longview<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"

Longview Police Chief<\/p><\/div>\n

LONGVIEW (Sept. 8th) \u2014Violence erupted today<\/a>\u00a0in a major labor dispute that has simmered for months at the Port of Longview, leading to work shutdowns at ports up and down the Washington coast. Why are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) \u2014 and their supporters in Washington and Oregon \u2014 so upset about a grain terminal that employs just 50 workers?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

EGT Development is a joint venture of Japan-based Itochu Corp, South Korea\u2019s STX Pan Ocean and St. Louis-based Bunge North America. Like so many corporations that promise good jobs to get what they want, EGT got\u00a0a special state tax exemption<\/a>\u00a0and a sweetheart lease deal from the Port of Longview to build a $200 million grain terminal there. The government even\u00a0seized adjacent land<\/a>\u00a0for the project. But as soon as the deal\u2019s ink was dry and the ceremonial first shovel of dirt\u00a0was overturned<\/a>\u00a0two years ago, EGT began running the project on the cheap.<\/p>\n

Despite high unemployment in Cowlitz County and the availability of hundreds of skilled union building trades workers, EGT\u00a0imported<\/a>\u00a0the vast majority of its construction crews from low-wage communities out-of-state and did not pay area standard wages, leading to\u00a0howls from the local labor community<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"

EGT Terminal<\/p><\/div>\n

After the terminal was built, EGT decided to ignore the Port of Longview\u2019s contract with ILWU Local 21 to hire union labor on its leased site. Instead, the multinational conglomerate hired non-union workers \u2014 claiming it would save the company $1 million a year (a figure the company\u00a0later admitted<\/a>\u00a0had been plucked from the sky) \u2014 and EGT sued the Port, arguing it was not bound by the contract with the ILWU.<\/p>\n

For months, ILWU picketed EGT and attempted to pressure the company to negotiate with the union. Those protests gradually grew in size as EGT refused to meet with the union, culminating in a major rally on June 3, when more than 1,000 ILWU supporters from Washington to California\u00a0rallied outside EGT\u2019s headquarters<\/a>\u00a0in downtown Portland. The protest was loud, but nonviolent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The dispute escalated at a\u00a0July 11 protest<\/a>\u00a0outside the EGT terminal in Longview, when members tore down a chain-link gate and stormed the EGT grain terminal. About 100 union dock workers, including union leaders, were cited and arrested.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to fight for our jobs in our jurisdiction. We have worked this dock for 70 years, and to have a big, rich corporation come in and say, \u2018We don\u2019t want you,\u2019 is a problem,\u201d ILWU 21 President Dan Coffman\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the (Longview) Daily News. \u201cWe\u2019re all together. We\u2019re all going to jail as a union.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Terminal Dispute<\/p><\/div>\n

On July 14, hundreds of union dock workers crowded onto railroad tracks to block a train from delivering grain to the EGT terminal. The Daily News\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that the 107-car train was rerouted to Vancouver following the standoff, which prompted Burlington Northern Santa Fe to indefinitely suspend train traffic to the grain terminal for safety reasons.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Trains Rerouted for Safety<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cBy far this is the most intense labor event that I can remember,\u201d Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson told the Daily News. But he said he understands what the union is trying to accomplish even though he didn\u2019t agree with its tactics. \u201cBless their hearts. These are our neighbors, too. These are our folks. This is our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Strike Spreads to Tacoma & Seattle<\/p><\/div>\n

EGT was feeling the heat, and community support for the local ILWU workers was growing as more people learned the facts of the dispute.<\/p>\n

Then the company made a\u00a0surprise announcement<\/a>\u00a0that it would hire a unionized subcontractor to run the terminal. EGT signed an agreement with Federal Way-based General Construction Co., a subsidiary of Kiewit, to operate the terminal with union members from the Portland-based International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Face Off<\/p><\/div>\n

The Washington State Labor Council\u00a0condemned<\/a>\u00a0EGT\u2019s attempt to pit union members against each other.<\/p>\n

\"\"

ILWU Workers Block Grain Train<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEGT, a Japanese multinational corporation that has received tax breaks from our state to build this grain elevator, has thumbed its nose at the members of ILWU Local 21\u00a0 and is trying to pit workers against workers, local unions against local unions. This is unacceptable,\u201d said WSLC President Jeff Johnson (pictured at left at a July 24 rally). \u201cThe work at the Port of Longview is longshore work and we need to come together as community and labor and say \u2018no\u2019 to EGT \u2014 \u2018you will not disrespect labor in Longview or anywhere else in our state\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Tensions Escalate<\/p><\/div>\n

There have been numerous incidents provoked by EGT\u2019s union-vs.-union arrangement. Most recently, a contractor drove right through the ILWU picket line on Aug. 29 and\u00a0struck two ILWU members<\/a>\u00a0who, fortunately, were not seriously injured. Although the contractor was not cited or arrested for the vehicular assault, an angry ILWU picketer was arrested for allegedly damaging the next vehicle that attempted to cross the picket line, a charge based on video surveillance provided by an EGT security guard.<\/p>\n

The next day, the National Labor Relations Board announced it was seeking a court order to end \u201caggressive picketing\u201d at the EGT facility and allow Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains to deliver grain to the facility. Such an order was issued last week, according to Rich Ahearn, director of the NLRB\u2019s Seattle office.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to yesterday, Sept. 7.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

Port Protest<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Some 400 ILWU members\u00a0stood on the railroad tracks<\/a>\u00a0to block a train from delivering grain to the terminal for about four hours, but the train passed through after protesters were confronted by 50 police officers in riot gear.\u00a0 ILWU President Robert McEllrath, who attended the protest, was\u00a0detained by police<\/a>, escalating tensions between protesters and officers. In the confrontation that ensued, police beat protesters away with clubs and pepper spray.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

ILWU International President Robert McEllrath<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

ILWU President Robert McEllrath is detained by police Sept. 7.\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n

Ultimately, McEllrath returned to urge members to end the standoff.<\/p>\n

\"\"

ILWU vs. EGT<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cYou can get maced and tear-gassed and clubbed (today)\u201d or wait for longshore support from all over the West Coast when the next train tries to enter the EGT terminal, McEllrath\u00a0reportedly<\/a>\u00a0told protesters after he met with police. \u201cIf we leave here, it doesn\u2019t mean that we gave up and quit. It means we\u2019re coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Tensions Build<\/p><\/div>\n

All but 16 of the protesters returned to the union hall; the 16 who refused were arrested for trespassing.<\/p>\n

\"\"

2 Protestors Break Through Police Lines<\/p><\/div>\n

Early this morning, hundreds of ILWU members and their supporters\u00a0reportedly<\/a>\u00a0stormed the EGT terminal at the Port of Longview, broke down the gates, overpowered security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain, according to Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha. Initial reports indicated no one was hurt and nobody has been arrested. After a few hours, the protesters returned to their union hall.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Uneasy Standoff<\/p><\/div>\n

So that\u2019s where we stand, as of this writing.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Courage<\/p><\/div>\n

To sum up: a taxpayer-subsidized international conglomerate, which is operating on public property, is suing the public so it can avoid paying the area\u2019s standard wages and undercut its competitors that do. Then, it exacerbated tensions with the local labor community by importing union workers from another jurisdiction to cross the picket lines.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Police Grab Longshoreman<\/p><\/div>\n

That\u2019s why ILWU members are angry, and that\u2019s why this is about more than just 50 jobs in Longview.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Peace Train?<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some may recall organized labor turning its back on Mason County residents in our own struggle against a rapacious internationally owned corporation (Adage) intent on destroying the community’s health, environment, and quality of life with the promise of “jobs, jobs, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4128"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4150,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4128\/revisions\/4150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}