Longshore workers rallying at West Coast ports deserve the backing of all working people and the active support of every union in the country. They are not only up against the antiunion and concessionary drive of the bosses, but the heavy hand of the U.S. government.

Workers at the August 12 rallies point out that government threats to invoke the Taft-Hartley law and to mobilize the Navy directly aid the bosses. Other threats include breaking up the union’s coastwide bargaining power and the passage of legislation to limit its ability to strike. One government official warned the union that the government "will use any means necessary to make sure our troops in the field get what they need."

The extent of the government threats was confirmed by International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) vice president Bob McEllrath, who said they are something he had "never seen before" in past negotiations.

The real aim of the U.S. rulers is to reinforce the employers’ stand by tying the hands of the union. They seek to prevent workers from exercising their collective strength and withholding their labor power from the bosses. The workforce has the potential to exercise tremendous economic and social power. Their labor keeps the ports running, moving $300 billion of exports and imports into and out of the United States each year. The docks are a vital center in the multibillionaire rulers’ world-spanning empire.

The August 12 ILWU actions demanded the government cease its threats and butt out of the negotiations. Union flyers at the rallies, along with workers’ comments to Militant reporters, indicate the rejection by many union members of the government’s attempt to use its war drive to prevent a strike.

Many workers on the docks know that without hard-fought strikes and ongoing skirmishes, the bosses would have already imposed sharp wage reductions, job cuts, and dangerous working conditions on the docks. Without the ability of the union to conduct work stoppages, the employers have the upper hand.

To this end the bosses and their government have a long history of attempting to use the Taft-Hartley law to throttle union struggles. Their success or failure has hinged on the strength of the targeted union and the determination of the workers at the time.

In 1947 more than 11,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania walked off the job in protest at what they called the Taft-Hartley Slave Labor bill awaiting President Harry Truman’s signature. Although the strike was not official it rapidly mushroomed through the Pittsburgh area. The refusal of the top union officials of the day to build on this rank-and-file rebellion thwarted the effort to deep-six the antiunion legislation.

In 1971 President Richard Nixon invoked the Taft-Hartley law against West Coast longshoremen during a nationwide strike that came close to tying up the country’s coastal ports.

Half a decade later, President James Carter tried to use the Slave Labor law against coal miners during their 110-day strike in 1977–78. He threatened to fine or jail their union leaders, confiscate their union treasuries, and cut off food stamps for their families. The miners stood up to the threat and forced the government to back down. The coal companies quickly came up with a new contract proposal.

The rallies and mobilizations by the dockworkers are part of the ongoing resistance of working people both in the United States and around the world to the unrelenting assaults by the bosses and their governments. Working people, farmers, and revolutionary-minded youth can join upcoming rallies by the longshore union, tell the truth about the offensive by the bosses and their government, and spread the word about the dockworkers’ fight. The success enjoyed by Militant sales teams this week shows the interest among workers on the dock in a working-class and socialist newspaper and in the revolutionary literature published by Pathfinder. Many workers know there are broad political questions involved in this class conflict and want to gain a better understanding of world politics in order to wage a more effective struggle. Joining these teams, and helping to get the paper and Pathfinder books out widely to working people and youth across the United States, is another crucial contribution to the struggle.
 
 
Related articles:
Dockworkers demand: ‘No gov’t union busting’
West Coast rallies oppose bosses’ and White House threats
Dockworkers snatch up ‘Militant’ and books’  
 
 
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