International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union
Local 10
400 North Point; San Francisco, Ca 94133 415-776-8100
Letter
to the State Attorney General, from Local 10
Defend
the Charleston Longshore Union: resolution
passed at the San Francisco ILWU Local 10 Executive Board meeting
February 8, 2000.
Mr. Kenneth Riley Jr., President
ILA Local 1422
727 King Street
Charleston, South Carolina 29403
Dear Brother Riley and ILA Local 1422 members,
We¹ve read about your valiant efforts to defend your union and
your jobs from incursions by the non-union Winyah Stevedoring company.
Your stand, in the face of police provocation, was inspiring to us
longshoremen on the West Coast who will be facing the same problem.
Last month, in Seattle ILWU locals and other AFL-CIO unions
vigorously protested against the World Trade Organization, whose
policies encourage privatization and unionbusting..... exactly what you¹re
confronted with in Charleston today--a Danish shipowner and a private
American stevedoring company conspiring to destroy ILA Local 1422.
If these unionbusting outfits are allowed to proliferate they will
destroy the decent working conditions and benefits that organized labor
has built, through sweat and blood, over the years. And they will
use so-called ³Right to Work² laws to do it.
The lesson of the bold Liverpool dockers¹ struggle is clear:
longshore unions on both coasts and internationally must be
vigilant and supportive of each other in the struggle against these
anti-labor threats. We will demand the immediate release of the 8
jailed longshoremen and an end to police brutality with the use of
concussion grenades, batons, police cars and helicopters---all in an
effort to stop longshoremen from defending their jobs. Please let
us know if we can support your struggle further. As we say in the ILWU
³An injury to one is an injury to all.²
In solidarity,
Lawrence Thibeaux
President
ILWU Local 10
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