A little over a month ago I ran across a diary on Dailykos that I found useful, interesting and full of information. Because of this, I asked the author if I could reprint it in its entirety. So, here it is:

The ILWU, Kansas City and Mexican Truckers
Thu May 08, 2008 at 09:44:56 PM EDT

Seventy-four years ago, longshoremen on the West Coast walked off the job to protest the imposition of an "open shop" by shipping and stevedoring firms. The strike, known variously as the West Coast Longshoremen’s Strike and the West Coast Waterfront Strike, soon sparked a sympathy strike from sailors and then a general strike in San Francisco that shut down the city for four days and culminated with "Bloody Thursday".

On Thursday, July 5th, the owners tried to forcibly open the ports. Police fired tear gas into the crowd of picketers, then charged in on horseback where they were met with rocks and spent gas canisters. Both sides retreated and regrouped several times. In the evening, after strikers tipped over a squad car, police opened fire, killing a striker and sympathizer. July 5th remains a holiday for West Coast longshoremen to this day.

The strike was a watershed event in labor history. The West Coast longshoremen, under the leadership of Harry Bridges, split from the more conservative, East Coast-based International Longshoremen’s Association and formed the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

The strike, along with similar strikes in Minneapolis and Toledo that year, also helped to bring about the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

While unions have seen their clout wane in recent years, the ILWU remains a potent force for labor and often a thorn in the side for the ruling class. In 2002, they forced Bush to invoke the dreaded Taft-Hartley Act to force an end to a union slow down and this past May Day they stayed home to protest the War.

A big part of the reason that the ILWU can ensure a high standard of living for its members and maintain its often militant independence is that it doesn’t face the same threats as many unionized workers -- you can’t move ports oversees. Or can you?

The ILWU’s strike of 1971 brought the union face-to-face with a new reality of the modern world – containers. Container shipping made it easier to simply transfer US-bound cargo to ports in Canada or Mexico, where they could be unloaded and trucked to the US.

The union won a partial victory in the strike, however, because Canadian ILWU longshoremen refused to unload ships heading for the US and American teamsters refused to ship goods from Mexican ports.

But Rome marches on.

A provision of NAFTA requires that all roads in the US, Mexico and Canada are open to truckers from all three nations. Because of opposition by teamsters and many in Congress, the full implementation of this provision was delayed for several years. (In 2001 Bush vetoed, incredibly, a bill that would require Mexican trucks to meet the same safety standards as American and Canadian trucks). While Canadian trucks were allowed full access to American highways, Mexican trucks were limited to within twenty miles of the border. Loads destined beyond this area were transferred to American trucks.

In September of last year, the Bush Administration launched a one-year pilot program to allow full access for Mexican trucks. The Senate immediately voted to withhold money need for the program from the Department of Transportation.

The use of Mexican truckers will, of course, result in huge savings for shippers. This passage from the investment website, seekingalpha.com, gives you a good idea:

The average US driver earns $.40 per mile, while the average. Mexican driver earns $.18 per mile. Based on 2007 results, I estimate that CLDN (a shipping company ~ eds) could realize a maximum of roughly $25 million annually by using all Mexican drivers for freight originating in Mexico. Even if CLDN is only able to recognize half of the potential savings, a $12.5m perpetuity discounted by their cost of capital (~12%) is worth $104m which, compared to the market cap of $218m, is significant.

But beside the immediate impact to the earning power of American (or even Canadian) truckers, is the long-term impact on longshoremen and the ILWU.

The Kansas City SmartPort is a state-of-the-art transshipment hub located in the heart of North America. The SmartPort is at the center of rail lines and highways that spread to all North American ports, including the recently upgraded port of Lazaro Cardenas (which has an exclusive rail access with Kansas City Southern Railroad) and the planned Punta Colonet in Mexico.

Nobody, save a few nuts who endlessly worry about "American sovereignty", expects teamsters and ILWU’ers to be supplanted overnight. But the implementation of NAFTA and the slow motion re-orientation of our nations shipment grid – away from coastal cities, to Mexico and up through Texas should give every working person pause.

Please drop the author a line at the original story here. As the anniversary of Bloody Thursday moves closer, remember that the rights of our port and dock workers were won through bitter and bloody confrontation. I honor that sacrifice today, and every day.

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Crossposted on Dailykos

Race and unions have been intertwined since the beginning of the labor movement.

Over the years, owners and bosses have used race and immigration to divide workers and keep them down. And this practice is a live and well today. Which is why when it happens, unionists combat it everywhere it happens, even on the docks in Charleston, South Carolina.

So, for this installment of my labor history series, we're going to talk about the Charleston 5.



So, let's set the scene. It's late Spring, early Summer 2000 and the Nation is reporting...

This past June 9 the flag of the Confederacy hung lifeless in the afternoon heat in front of the state Capitol in Columbia. A year ago it was demoted from its place atop the Statehouse dome, and on this day the air around it vibrated with the shouts of people demonstrating in support of a labor union, International Longshoremen's Association Local 1422, that had been instrumental in organizing the protests that brought the flag down. At the height of the antiflag campaign last year, 46,000 people had marched on Columbia. This was a smaller crowd, about 5,000, but an old-timer told me he had never in seventy-five years seen so many people turn out for a union in South Carolina. They came because the state is gunning for this union of black dockworkers from Charleston who weren't polite about the flag and weren't docile when a shipping company whose vessels they'd worked for twenty-three years decided to use scab labor.

>snip<

Ken Riley, the president of Local 1422, remembers driving along East Bay Street toward the union hall on the afternoon of January 19 and being awed by the gathering army. Outside the Ports Authority's office next to 1422's hall, riot police were practicing maneuvers, lunging in formation with shields raised, batons up. "My Lord," Riley thought, "what are they preparing for?" After conferring with the presidents of Locals 1771 and 1422-A (port mechanics), he outlined the unions' strategy to workers assembled in the hall: They would do nothing. But because the grand strategy was to drive up the costs of working nonunion, they wouldn't go home either. They'd keep the police out there all night, costing the city, the state, the port and Nordana so much money that those forces would be hard-pressed to claim victory.

Throughout the evening members of all three unions--the blacks who load the ships and have since slave times, the whites who do the paperwork and have since slave times, and the blacks and whites who work as mechanics--passed through 1422's doors. At about 11:30 pm, guys coming into the hall were saying police at roadblocks had harassed them. A discussion followed. The show of force was meant to provoke but also to intimidate; the workers didn't want to fall into the trap, but they didn't want to be bullied either. These days, some union supporters say this is a case about democracy, but the talk that night was about respect, about not being ground down. "I Am a Man" read the famous sign carried by striking garbage workers in Memphis, 1968, and it was that statement the dockers wanted to make by going out to face the police line in Charleston. Riley watched as they funneled out of the hall. He says there were 130 to 140 workers; rank-and-file participants say there were no more than 200; the media's count has swung wildly, from 600 to 400 to 300.

The shipping company in question was Nordana, a Danish company. Nordana made a "business decision" to subcontract the dock work to a company that would use scab labor.

On January 20, 2000?, as one of Nordana's ships was docking, 600 riot-clad local and state police officers were on hand. When about 130 workers began marching toward the dock to exercise their right to picket, police initiated a clash by pushing the picketers back and shouting racist slurs, Kenneth Riley says. When that happened, he and other officers of Local 1422 "created a buffer between the police and the pickets," according to the Campaign for Workers' Rights in South Carolina. At that point, the Campaign reported, one police officer "ran out of formation and clubbed Kenneth Riley in the head. A fight ensued." The police attacked the workers with rubber bullets, tear gas, smoke grenades, and nightsticks.

After Police attacked the workers, 12 men were arrested and 5 were charged with felony counts of conspiracy to riot. These charges meant that

All five workers faced felony charges for rioting, which if convicted carried a maximum of five years in prison, and individual fines of between $1,000 and $5,000.

These were 5 rank and file members of ILA's Local 1422. But this was largely the problem, not the peaceful protests on the docks against Nordana, but it was the union's local, #1422. You see, local 1422 is a progressive and predominantly African-American union in deeply red and extremely anti-union South Carolina.

You see, this local chose to support progressive candidates and causes and to also provide additional assistance to these candidates and causes through use of their facilities and mobilization of their membership.

Well, all this activism (read that as being "uppity blacks/workers/etc") didn't sit well with the predominantly Republican establishment, especially after the ILA (local 1422) organized rallies to have the Confederate Flag removed from the state capitol. They need to do something, bring them back in line. This was their shining moment of opportunity and the Attorney General wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

Originally, State Attorney General Charlie Condon sought the indictments of nine union men for rioting. But a trial judge who watched the videotape of the conflict dropped the charges for lack of evidence. Nevertheless, Condon, a right-wing Republican, successfully obtained indictments for five men. At that time Condon said his plan for the workers was “jail, jail, and more jail.” Condon also refused to negotiate plea bargains with the union.

So, Condon had his moment, he had his show of force:

The assault was aimed not only at labor rights but at civil rights too. ILA members in Charleston are overwhelmingly black, and Local 1422 played a key role in a 40,000-strong march on the statehouse in Charleston—held just three days before the police riot—to demand that the Confederate flag be taken down. Condon's[Attorney General at the time] vengeful actions suggest that he was hoping to ride a racist backlash into the governor's mansion.

Condon just equated unions to the worst possible topic of our times; yep, it’s true, he did it:

The demagogic South Carolina District Attorney Charlie Condon, with aspirations for governor, had been threatening “jail, jail and more jail” for the longshoremen. He overplayed his hand and was removed from the case after comparing the union picketers to the terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center.

But jailing, referring to union activists as terrorists or even fining these workers wasn't enough, Condon wanted to make sure that these workers suffered.

For nearly 20 months, the Charleston Five—Kenneth Jefferson, Elijah Ford, Jr., Peter Washington, Jr., Ricky Simmons, and Jason Edgerton—remained under house arrest. They were forbidden to leave their homes between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. except to go to work or attend union meetings.

Another 27 workers faced a $1.5 million lawsuit filed by WSI, the company that ran the scab operation for Nordana. WSI sued to recover "lost profits" that it claimed the ILA picketers had caused.

The goal here is clear, destroy the union; bankrupt the locals and bring the earning power of these men - who clearly didn't know their place - back in line with the rest of the state, a strongly anti-union rate of pay, about half of their salary. But the locals had a weapon to use in this epic battle, they had solidarity.

Unions from around the country sent help to the ILA locals including unionists to picket and money for the legal defense fund. In Sweden, the president of the dock workers called for a day of International solidarity and in Spain, dock workers REFUSED to unload ANY Nordana unless they used skilled labor. But even with this, the locals weren’t done, with a contract in hand with Nordana, they turned to the WSI scab employees and unionized them. This is pretty much equivalent to kicking ass and taking names in my book. You see, this is what solidarity means. More than ever,

...in today's climate of racism and repression, the Charleston Five victory is nothing short of remarkable. If it inspires other workers to organize—especially in the South—that will be cause for celebration too. Most important, it shows that joining together to stand up for our beliefs is the best way to defend our rights to speak, assemble, and express dissent. Today, these rights are seriously threatened. The only way to keep them is to use them.

It's still up to us. Together we have power and we can bring even the most anti-union state to its knees, remove a racist flag from a State Capitol and celebrate working men and women everywhere. We can only do it if we stick together.

There is a plethora of information on the web about the Charleston 5, including a few ominous pictures of the Police the night of the attack.

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On May 1st, I will buy no products, travel nowhere, pay for no services, nor will I work. For 8 hours. On May 1st, I’ll remember the more than 4,000 American soldiers who have fallen, the countless thousands who have come home without legs, arms, eyes or the ability to walk. I will remember those now in mental hospitals and all those now living on the streets, still at war in their heads. I will remember all the innocent lives lost in Iraq, children, elderly, mothers, fathers, and I will keep in mind that we can change it all this November.

I’m planning to support the International Longshore and Warehouse Union by not working the day shift on May 1st.

Why?

To honor all those workers who have died in work related accidents this year and also to support the ILWU protest AGAINST the IRAQ WAR

Let’s start with the ILWU protest:

Longshore Caucus calls for Iraq war protest at ports on May 1

Nearly one hundred Longshore Caucus delegates voted on February 8 to support a resolution calling for an eight-hour "stop-work" meeting during the day-shift on Thursday, May 1 at ports in CA, OR and WA to protest the war by calling for the immediate, safe return of U.S. troops from Iraq.

“The Caucus has spoken on this important issue and I’ve notified the employers about our plans for 'stop work' meetings on May 1,” said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath.

Caucus delegates, including several military veterans, spoke passionately about the importance of supporting the troops by bringing them home safely and ending the War in Iraq. Concerns were also raised about the growing cost of the war that has threatened funding for domestic needs, including education and healthcare. Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard economist Linda J. Bilmes recently estimated that the true cost of the War in Iraq to American taxpayers will exceed 3 trillion dollars--a figure they describe as "conservative."

The union’s International Executive Board recently endorsed Barack Obama, citing his opposition to the War in Iraq as one of the key factors in the union's decision-making process.

The ILWU was one (but not the first) of the first unions to integrate, having done so in 1936. Both black and white gangs (work crews) worked alongside each other on the docks and held together during the strike of 1936. Integrating the union meant that when they had to strike, owners and bosses couldn’t race bate the workers, a management practice still in use today (check out Smithfield justice for more on this).

My point here about the ILWU is that it is a very progressive union. They do things democratically; including this action on the Iraq war, in fact, they even say as much:

Caucus delegates are democratically elected representatives from every longshore local who set policy for the Longshore Division.

And in support of the actions taken by the caucus,

ILWU International President Robert McEllrath has written letters to President John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO and President Andy Stern of the Change-to-Win Coalition, and to the presidents of the International Transport Workers Federation and the International Dockworkers Council to inform them of the ILWU's plans for May 1.

But this day of Remembrance is not only for those who’ve fallen in this war, but also all those workers who’ve lost their lives in the past 12 months. Since yesterday was the Day of Mourning, it seems fitting to remember just a very small sampling of people who’ve given their lives to their jobs. From the Weekly Toll:

Employer Shoots Employee in KingsportJohnson City,TN -
An Elizabethton man died over the weekend after police say he was shot by his boss. The Sullivan County Sheriff's Department received a call around 9 pm Friday night on a shooting at Kingsport Transfer on Moreland Drive. Investigators say the owner, Samuel Ireson and employee James Guinn were arguing when Ireson shot Guinn in the chest. Guinn was taken to Holston Valley Hospital and died Saturday morning. Investigators say Ireson was released to allow time to determine exactly what led up to the shooting.

Report explains death at Greenheck Fan Wausau, WI —
A man who died Saturday while working on a machine at Greenheck Fan Corp. in Schofield made a similar repair on the same machine a week earlier, a co-worker told police. Michael Damask, 42, of Hatley, died of compression asphyxia or suffocation, Marathon County Medical Examiner John Larson said this afternoon. Damask was killed when part of a hydraulic press dropped on him while he was changing a bearing, Larson said Larson determined the cause of death after conducting an autopsy this morning. The weight of the machine on his body prevented him from breathing or calling for help, Larson said. Damask was employed by Greenheck for approximately two years and worked nine months in the maintenance department. Damask is married and has three children.


Window washer falls to death at American Indian museum
WASHINGTON — A window washer at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian has fallen at least 50 feet to his death. D.C. Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter says rescuers were called to the museum on the National Mall about 10 a.m. Thursday. It's not clear whether the man's safety harness failed or whether it had been engaged properly when he started work. Authorities have not been able to identify the man. Etter says he appeared to be in his early 30s and worked for a contractor hired by the Smithsonian. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

Bartender killed after asking man for ID Sunrise Beach, MO - The Gossip Inn is a neighborhood corner bar. "A family tradition since 1938," says the sign out front. But the small tavern in Kansas City, Kan., had a firm rule posted prominently behind the bar: Nobody gets served a drink without showing an ID. Bartender Lori Reynolds stood fast by that rule about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, and it cost Reynolds her life. A man upset when Reynolds said she couldn't serve him without seeing his ID opened fire, striking her multiple times and spraying six to eight more rounds through the bar. No one else was reported injured. The man fled the bar and was still at large Saturday evening. Reynolds died at a hospital. "She did her job. That's all she was trying to do -- her job," said bar owner Laura Maude. Maude said Reynolds, 44, was a good bartender, liked

El Paso CBP officer dies in crash near Moriarty WASHINGTON -
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air Interdiction Agent (Pilot Trainee) died while performing training as a result of an aircraft crash that occurred Monday at approximately 12:40 p.m. EDT at Moriarty Airport, near Albuquerque, N.M. The Air Interdiction Officer who died in the crash is Julio E. Baray. He is survived by his wife and two children. "Today, the Customs and Border Protection family mourns the loss of Officer Julio Baray," said Michael Kostlenik, Assistant Commissioner, CBP Office of Air and Marine. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."

Lorain worker crushed to death LORAIN, OH — An employee of Brush Wellman Engineered Products was crushed to death Sunday night in a casting machine. Matthew Salisbury, 30, of Day Drive in Lorain, was pronounced dead at the scene following the accident, which occurred at about 10:50 p.m., said county Coroner Paul Matus. “He died as a result of acute trauma,” Matus said. “His injuries were obvious and fatal.” The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Toledo office is investigating the accident. “He was inside a machine and got pinned,” said Dick Tracy, the agency’s assistant area director. He said it was too early to say how the accident occurred. Salisbury’s wife, Jennifer Salisbury, said a co-worker told her he saw the whole thing. “The machine was broke down — it was clogged — and he was trying to unclog it,” she said.

So, I’m asking again, do you know what you’re doing on Thursday, May 1st?


crossposted on Women, Unions and Our Stories

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What Are you Doing on May 1st?

I’m planning to support the International Longshore and Warehouse Union by not working the day shift on May 1st.

Why?

To protest the Iraq War
Take a look at their commitment to this One Day –Strike- Meeting:

ILWU International President Robert McEllrath has written letters to President John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO and President Andy Stern of the Change-to-Win Coalition, and to the presidents of the International Transport Workers Federation and the International Dockworkers Council to inform them of the ILWU's plans for May 1.

More from the ILWU's call to action:

Longshore Caucus calls for Iraq war protest at ports on May 1

Nearly one hundred Longshore Caucus delegates voted on February 8 to support a resolution calling for an eight-hour "stop-work" meeting during the day-shift on Thursday, May 1 at ports in CA, OR and WA to protest the war by calling for the immediate, safe return of U.S. troops from Iraq.

“The Caucus has spoken on this important issue and I’ve notified the employers about our plans for 'stop work' meetings on May 1,” said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath.

Caucus delegates, including several military veterans, spoke passionately about the importance of supporting the troops by bringing them home safely and ending the War in Iraq. Concerns were also raised about the growing cost of the war that has threatened funding for domestic needs, including education and healthcare. Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard economist Linda J. Bilmes recently estimated that the true cost of the War in Iraq to American taxpayers will exceed 3 trillion dollars--a figure they describe as "conservative."

The union’s International Executive Board recently endorsed Barack Obama, citing his opposition to the War in Iraq as one of the key factors in the union's decision-making process.

The ILWU was one (if not the first) union to integrate, having done so in 1936. Both black and white gangs (work crews) worked alongside each other on the docks and held together during the strike of 1936. Integrating the union meant that when they had to strike, owners and bosses couldn’t race bate the workers, a management practice still in use today (check out Smithfield justice for more on this).

My point here about the ILWU is that it is a very progressive union. They do things democratically; including this action on the Iraq war, in fact, they even say as much:

Caucus delegates are democratically elected representatives from every longshore local who set policy for the Longshore Division.

And in support of the actions taken by the caucus,

On May 1st, I will buy no products, travel no where, pay for no services, nor will I work. For 8 hours on May 1st, I’ll remember the more than 4,000 American soldiers who have fallen, the countless thousands who have come back without legs, arms, eyes or the ability to walk. I will remember those now in mental hospitals and all those now living on the streets, still at war in their heads. I will remember all the innocent lives lost in Iraq, children, elderly, mothers, fathers, and I will keep in mind that we can change it all this November.

So, I’m asking again, do you know what you’re doing on May 1st?

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Cause, you totally ROCK!!

And why you might ask?

Because they endorsed Obama. It apparently happened last week and I freaking missed it!!! I guess I've been a little preoccupied lately.

But not to belabor my point (pun intended), Longshoremen ROCK!

ILWU represents longshoremen in California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Canada. I suppose I now need to look up the East coasters and see what they have to say. Of course, they aren't the union of Harry Bridges, only the west coasters are!! Harry, love you, love your union!!

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I read through the comments on Firedoglake today. They've been posting some pieces on the writers strike and more importantly, the return of the Colbert Report and the Daily Show. Then I read this comment

Christy Hardin Smith

Stewart and Colbert have contracts which are currently in force, and they have production obligations as well. If they didn’t go back on, they could (a) be fired, (b) have their shows cancelled meaning everyone else would lose their jobs, (c) get sued, and (d) get blackballed by the studio system meaning they couldn’t get more jobs for others working for their shows in the future. The writers currently do not have active contracts — they expired, and the studios didn’t re-up with the writers under the terms proposed, which is why there is a strike.

Talent and writers are two separate categories in terms of contracts here. As are producers and directors.

True, talent and writers are two different things. But, perhaps a better example would be how Dock Workers and Truckers are two different things.

Dock workers are most often represented by the ILWU, The International Longshoreman and Warehouse union. Truckers, well, they are most often Teamsters.

I know, I know, what the F$%k am I talking about? I'm getting to it...

Years and years ago, when workers went on strike they had power in their numbers. Not just the strikers numbers but in combination with their brother and sister unions. It's a term affectionately dubbed "secondary boycotts."

A secondary boycott is where workers set up a picket line with the intention of stopping everyone from entering. The link has a good example of this and here's some of the text:

On the morning of the picketing, two gates had signs stating that the seating contractor and its employees, suppliers and visitors were prohibited from using those entrances. A third gate was labeled as being exclusively for the seating contractor, its employees, suppliers and visitors. Because the signs did not specifically mention the seating subcontractor – the announced target of the picketing – union members picketed all three gates, not just the one reserved for the seating contractor. All work on the project was shut down because other union members refused to cross the picket line.

The seating subcontractor's name was added to the signs four days later, and the union stopped picketing at those gates not meant for the seating contractor and subcontractor. The day after the signs were changed, all other unions returned to work. One day later, the union stopped picketing after a letter arrived from its national headquarters advising that the strike was affecting a union contractor with a no-strike clause. At no time during the strike did the union encourage its members to return to work.

The concrete contractor sued the union, alleging injuries from the secondary boycott and a violation of the no-strike clause in the parties' collective bargaining agreement. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky held the union liable and awarded damages. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the finding of liability, affirmed the award of certain damages and reversed the denial of other damages. F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. v. Kentucky State District Council of Carpenters, 293 F.3d 935 (6th Cir. 2002)

Okay, so what I'm talking about here is when workers set up a picket line to protest unfair owner-business practices and other unions who have workers at the same location abide by the picket line.

So, lets say the Teamsters are protesting Federal Express and have set up a picket line to prevent scab federal express workers and their rats (could be bosses or non-union co-workers) from getting to work or at least cross the line. So, to support this effort, the longshoreman refuse to cross the teamster picket line and unload a Federal Express shipment. This would be a secondary boycott. If more unions join into this, it's also frequently called a General Strike.

So, let's go back to Christy's comment,

Stewart and Colbert have contracts which are currently in force, and they have production obligations as well. If they didn’t go back on, they could
(a) be fired,
(b) have their shows cancelled meaning everyone else would lose their jobs,
(c) get sued, and
(d) get blackballed by the studio system meaning they couldn’t get more jobs for others working for their shows in the future....

Perhaps a little labor history is in order for the Progressive Ms. Hardin Smith. Let's start with Longshoreman Paul Heide:

PAUL HEIDE

...During the L.A. Spring Co. strike for recognition in 1936, I got a telephone call to come out right away. I drove out and parked directly across the street from the Oakland plant. It had to be a frame-up. The police wanted me out there so they could work me over. Those were the days when they had an anti-picketing ordinance. They did away with it later. Captain Brown was in charge of the Oakland Police Department’s Eastern Office Division. He hated labor organizers.

Anyway, there were two cops in front of the L.A. Spring plant. One of them walked over when I parked. He said, “You can’t park here.” I said, “Why not?” He said, “Because Captain Brown says so.” I said, “Well, screw Captain Brown!” He took out his club and almost broke my arm he hit it so hard.

“Get out of the car,” he said. I stepped out and he hit me in the back. I knew he was trying to get me to do something so I could be charged. He said, “What are you coming out here, starting trouble for?” He took his club and punched me in the rib cage. I’d trained as a boxer and I hit him by automatic reflex before I realized it. I punched his teeth and cut a hole right through his lower lip. Then the other cop stepped behind me and hit me over the head, and split my scalp open. I was bleeding all over.

They took me to Highland Hospital and put me in one of those barred rooms. They charged me with resisting arrest and battery. I had a trial in Municipal Court and the jury found me guilty of battery but not guilty of resisting arrest. If you can make those two things fit together—I’ve never been able to understand how they figured that out. ...we won the beef, got the contract, and were satisfied

Colbert and Stewart face the same sanctions as everyone else who supports a strike. Heide was beaten and jailed basically for organizing. Sure, they can a) be fired,
(b) have their shows cancelled, (c) get sued, and (d) get blackballed, but how is that any different than any other worker out there? The problem is that it isn't.

The reason I'm so pissed at the two men I held in such high regard, Colbert and Stewart, is that they don't seem to understand what we all risk when involved in a strike. Perhaps Bill Ward can describe what I mean a little better:

Before the 1934 strike longshoring was all heavy, hand-handled work, and the men were fighting the speed-up at every turn. After those 12 and 18 hour shifts some longshoremen would go to the Robel Inn, a transit hotel in San Pedro where I used to deliver papers. They'd be completely exhausted. They'd sleep eight, ten, 12 hours. It was usually a day and a half or two before they were ready to go again. One time I went down there to deliver my papers and five or six longshoremen were getting rubdowns. They had hot steam towels they'd wring out and put on. Their legs were all sore and bruised.

....
I really didn't realize what the hell was going on until after the shock of the killing of longshoremen during the 1934 strike. That was a clear recollection I could identify with. I knew many longshoremen. Their kids were in my age group and we hung around together. So that was an impact that really started me to be aware of what my father was up against.

I've written here about what happens to latino women who work at Smithfield. How they are hired for less pay to replace black women at the same factory. And after they replace those women, the plant has spread rumors about INS coming to check papers. This usually causes groups to be out from the jobs but it also ensures they can keep their workers down by basically telling them, do what we say for what we pay you and don't unionize or we'll tell the INS about you, your friends, your family and anyone we just think might be connected to you. It's called intimidation.

So, how do these longshoremen stories or my stories about Smithfield even come close to describing what it is that Colbert and Stewart are doing? It's because, they risk no more for themselves, their families or the workers who depend on the jobs on their shows than any other union member who makes the decision not to cross a picket line.

As members of WGA, Leno, Stewart, Maher and O'Brien are saying not simply to their writers that they are thinking of themselves first but they are also telling everyone who works for them that they too won't be supported if push comes to shove.

Colbert and Stewart, push has come to shove and the two of you, like Christy Hardin Smith, just don't seem to get it. People like Heid and Ward fought for your right to set up a picket line. What does your crossing it say about their sacrifice?

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