Unofficial ILWU Local 19
History & Education

Opinion of an American Wharfie

Don't be brainwashed by the governments and corporations who will use the corporate controlled media to divide the workers and pit them against one another to their own destruction. Do you ever hear these mega corporations talk about the enormous profits they make? The governments and corporations absolutely do not want the common man to have any power or control.

They are fearful of the power of solidarity and will pay or do anything to keep it from us because they know the people always prevail when they are united. They want us to think that we are paid too much and then they whine because of it so that the misinformed will have sympathy to these giants who no more care about the common man than they do about discarded garbage.

They hope that then they will have support of the misinformed so that they can eliminate unions and collective bargaining so the worker is reduced to a meager existence without representation so their profits can rise even farther. We only want a fair and decent wage for our families.

Most workers try and do the best job they can and have pride in their work. The companies make money and when workers have pride in themselves they are more productive and in return we have job security.

It is a win win situation. Unfortunately they see us as replaceable machines. They hope that some poor hungry, unrepresented and misinformed person will take their place and work for what ever is given to them. History repeats itself and this battle that our Australian brothers and sisters are fighting is a similar battle that we as workers all over the world and throughout history have been constantly fighting.