President’s Message, March 2021

The country is opening up and we are looking ahead and looking forward as we pass the 1-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown across the globe. I want to thank the entire membership for your courage and perseverance which has been a motivation to some and a salvation to others. 

This has been a year of heartache and turmoil for all of us. Across our union and in every division, we have been in constant battle with employers to find ways to continue to move the economy and keep workers on the job while ensuring that everyone is protected and safe from the spread of disease. 

Many in the ILWU have been laid off or faced reduced hours. Others have felt the pain of isolation as we shelter in place and distance from friends and loved ones. Even more painful is the unimaginable loss this disease has caused: colleagues, friends and family members have died from COVID-19. To date, the United States has lost over 555,000 lives, and worldwide, the numbers are staggering with over 2.8 million dead. More ILWU members have died from COVID-19 than were lost during Bloody Thursday and the 1934 strike. We honor their memory and they will live with us forever.

The pandemic has taught us new ways to connect with one another. We have grown our organizing efforts under the Organizing Department’s tireless leadership and dedication. We have negotiated first contracts over virtual platforms. We have expanded our education programs to include the use of webinars and virtual workshops to enhance our leadership trainings. The officers and leaders at every local have worked through impossible obstacles to secure vaccines for our members.

As vaccines become more available, the COVID19 infection rate has dropped significantly. As businesses reopen, we look forward to our members returning to work that were laid off due to COVID-19. Please remember to support our brothers and sisters at Local 142 and Local 5 by giving business to ILWU hotels and buying books at Powell’s. As the conditions of the pandemic improve, we are looking forward and moving ahead. Despite the separation, we continue to work together as a union.

Currently, ILWU Local 30 in Boron is in contract negotiations with Rio Tinto. Historically, these negotiations have been challenging and we all remember when Local 30 was locked out by Rio Tinto in 2010. The ILWU Titled Officers will be assisting in their negotiations and Local 30 will have the entire support of the International and ILWU family. We all stand in solidarity with Local 30 and will do all that we can to help them achieve a fair and just contract. The International is here to support all divisions and encourage locals to reach out for support if it is needed. Looming large is the 2022 longshore contract expiration.

Never forget: During the 2002 contract negotiations, PMA locked out longshore workers along the West Coast. Seen in this photo from the lockout are (left to right): the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Local 13 President Ramon Ponce De Leon and then LA City Council member Eric Garcetti

Let us not forget that 2022 will mark the 20th anniversary of the 2002 lockout by PMA. Similar to 2002, this union will be tested. We will be focused and disciplined. Each one of us needs to save our money and get our household affairs in order. We will be prepared and ready to fight. We will fight to protect our health and welfare benefits, our pensions, our job security, and the securities of our families. The strength of our union comes from the rank and file, the pensioners, the auxiliaries, our allies, our communities, and national and international solidarity. We need all hands on deck to secure a successful contract. Our unity and vision will determine our future. 

I would encourage every member who hasn’t seen the documentary, The Eye of the Storm, to watch it. If you have seen it, I would encourage you to watch it again. This important film details the 2002 contract fight and the lockout of longshore workers along the West Coast by the PMA. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/qJUDpIh5WOo. 

There is a lot at stake in the upcoming longshore contract negotiations—especially as we move forward in a world of increasing automation and the resulting job loss that comes with it. There will be some painful discussions. As Harry Bridges once said: “The interests of labor are different from the interests of our employers.” There is not a division in the ILWU whose jobs are not impacted by workplace automation. 

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the 1971 strike. The 1971-72 strike was the longest in our history—lasting over 130 days. As we prepare for negotiations next year, it is important to look back on that pivotal strike and draw some lessons from our history. In 1971, longshore workers voted to strike to win back some of the concessions we made in the 1966 contract. On July 1st, the day our contract expired, we hit the bricks. We wanted a wage increase, a 40-hour workweek or pay guarantee, a $500 per month pension, 10 paid holidays, and welfare coverage. The employer remained unwilling to meet these demands, despite the cargo piling up offshore. 

As the months wore on, the Nixon administration became involved. First, indirectly by initiating nationwide wage and price controls that effectively limited the amount of pay increase we could demand. Second, by invoking the Taft-Hartley Act and issuing an 80-day injunction against the strike, thus sending strikers back to work from the picket lines. 

Despite the challenges, we stayed strong. Shortly after the injunction was lifted, when we still did not have key demands met, we again returned to the picket lines and continued the strike. We finally reached an agreement in February of 1972. 

Since the great labor victories of the 1930s, the US has passed a series of restrictive laws that curb labor’s powers. Notably, in 1947 Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibits secondary boycotts or sympathy strikes—actions that were at the heart of the San Francisco general strike. The Act also allows the government to issue “cooling off” periods in the case of strikes and lockouts. 

These “cooling off” periods were used by the government in our strikes in 1948 and 1971, and during the 2002 lockout. Since our founding, the government has intervened in every contract negotiation. 

Looking back on the impact of restrictive legislation on our power at the bargaining table, I want to stress how important it is for us to be vigilant in addressing the issues facing both our union and our country. 

We have to engage in political action because money gives us access, leverage, and political power. In Washington, we continue to see that one party is playing chess and the other party is playing checkers. However, we have a unique opportunity to make significant changes in labor law with the passage of the PRO Act—legislation which, among other things, would roll back much of the restrictions in Taft-Hartley. 

We need to prioritize investments in infrastructure. We must continue to be a voice for the disenfranchised and the marginalized, which means fighting for the rights of all Americans to vote and have their voice heard. The ILWU will always condemn hate crimes, and in particular, the recent heinous acts against the Asian American community. 

We must never rest on our laurels when it comes to social and racial justice and the ILWU will always take a stand for those with no voice. Unions have been the only powerful and effective voice for working people in this country and the ILWU is no stranger to the challenges facing working people today. Although the landscape is different, the issues remain the same: all workers want and deserve dignity on the job. Each failure has presented a lesson for our union and our leaders but we have learned to adapt, evolve, and survive out of necessity to protect our members and their jobs. After all, it is our militancy that has made us successful as a union all these years. 

As we reflect on the past year, let us channel the excitement and momentum from our membership as we head into the 38th ILWU Convention. 1937 was our first ILWU convention and 2021 marks our first-ever virtual convention. Preparations are on track and looking good. The membership of the ILWU continues to work together. Stronger together. Long live the ILWU. 

This article is dedicated to all the ILWU members who have lost their lives due to COVID-19.