Police at the SINTRAJAP union hall stand below a sign that says the port funds are for everyone, and the workers won’t give that up.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is asking the Obama administration to investigate the illegal ousting of elected union leaders from Costa Rica’s dockworkers union. Declaring that longshore workers are united beyond international borders, the ILWU denounced the police takeover of SINTRAJAP, the union representing longshore workers in the Caribbean ports of Limón and Moín on Wednesday, May 28th. The ILWU pledged to increase its months-long campaign to help restore union democracy in the Central American country.
The ports of Limón and Moín handle significant imports of petroleum and other products and are major exporters of bananas, coffee, cocoa and coconuts. ILWU International President Robert McEllrath said, “Longshore workers are united globally, and when police start breaking glass and occupying the union hall in Costa Rica, it’s a call for international solidarity.”
Costa Rica’s newspaper, El País, reported that a group of 60 armed police closed streets around the building of JAPDEVA’s union [SINTRAJAP] in Limón, while several knocked down doors and stormed the building, at 4:30 a.m., in the Costa Rican Caribbean port.
In January, the democratically elected leaders of SINTRAJAP were replaced in what the ILWU calls a “sham election forced by the government in apparent violation of international labor law.” Since that time, the ILWU Coast Longshore Division has supported the union’s Costa Rican counterparts by:
- Writing a letter to President Barack Obama from ILWU President Robert McEllrath outlining the issue and requesting assistance.
- Educating members of Congress on the issue, prompting a letter signed by 25 U.S. senators and representatives asking Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to investigate.
- Hosting a delegation of Costa Rican dockers at the ILWU Coast Longshore Division’s Caucus on April 5-9, where representatives of all longshore members voted unanimously to support SINTRAJAP’s fight to restore its elected leaders.
- Placing several full-page advertisements in major Costa Rican newspapers, including La Nacion and El Semanario, to educate citizens on the undemocratic moves of their government.
President McEllrath’s letter to President Obama concluded with the following observation about international solidarity: “Dockworkers worldwide are of a strong and unique fraternity that transcends nationalism. Cargo vessels and their owners are not dependent on any one country. Neither are dockworkers. An injury to one is an injury to all.”