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"SHUT THE PORTS DOWN"
THE LONGSHORE RALLYING CRY!
Longshore worker Bill Proctor, of Seattle, was a participant in the June
9th demonstration in support of the Charleston 5, in South Carolina.
Proctor sent the following commentary to portside in response to
yesterday's portside posting:
Tony Bartelme of the Post and Courier staff in his article of June 10,
2001, dateline Charleston, South Carolina, must have misheard the
"troops" as we chanted: "SHUT THE PORTS DOWN" on the
steps of the South Carolina state capital.
This rallying cry, raised by West Coast longshoremen of the
International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and taken up by the entire
throng, went up, just as John Bowers, President of the International
Longshoremen's Association concluded his remarks, stating he would go to
court with the Charleston 5 if necessary.
West coast longshore workers of the I.L.W.U. have taken this cause to
heart and clearly expressed this by their presence at the march and
rally, and with their rallying cry to shut down ports around the nation.
The march was led by a Teamster color guard, and the Local 10, ILWU
Drill Team out of San Francisco, Ca. Sorry to say, the local 10 drill
team was not allowed to carry their chrome plated cargo hooks, which
gives the team an added bit of flair, their hooks flashing in syncopated
rhythm. The local police termed them "meat hooks" when in fact
they were cotton hooks, a real irony for me, given we were in the state
of South Carolina! This was the first time in their 35 + years
that the drill time has not been allowed to use the tools of their
trade, though somewhat outdated, to embellish their rousing
routines
As a former member of local 10, and now a member of local 19 Seattle, I
must say I am extremely proud of my unions response to the plight of the
Charleston 5!
Bartleme also neglected to mention that no less than 6 law enforcement
(?) agencies of the state of South Carolina were on hand and in reserve,
and not even one citation was issued, no arrests were made.
I think Charley Condon, the states attorney general, must be terribly
disappointed in that fact! I'd like to hear him justify the wages paid
in overtime to the police for that day, to his tax payers.
I'm proud to say that I was present for this historic event, and if
necessary, I shall return to that state which fired the opening round in
our countries Civil War, for as far as we are concerned, Charley Condon
has fired another shot, and longshore is ready to meet the
challenge.......nationwide, and in Puerto Rico, Canada, Sweden, Denmark,
Korea and of course here on the "left coast" of the U.S.
Struggling on, peace through power, as ever
Bill Proctor
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