International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union
Local 10

Letter to the State Attorney General, from Local 10

Letter from Local 10

Resolution passed at the San Francisco ILWU Local 10 Executive Board meeting February 8, 2000.

Defend the Charleston Longshore Union

Mr. Kenneth Riley Jr., President
ILA Local 1422

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 union busting..... 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 union busting 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 Right to Work 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 An injury to one is an injury to all.

In solidarity,
Lawrence Thibeaux
President
ILWU Local 10