The Militant - January 30, 2006 -- Longshore locals back labor defense case

Vol. 70/No. 4 January 30, 2006

Longshore locals back labor defense case
(front page)

BY PAUL MAILHOT
SALT LAKE CITY—“It’s time for unions and all labor to step forward and stand strong together to stop attacks like the C.W. Mining Company’s harassment lawsuit,” said John Fisher, a member of the executive board of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 19 in Seattle. The local voted unanimously at its January 12 meeting to endorse the Militant Fighting Fund and to contribute $1,000 to help defend the Militant against this retaliatory suit.

This is the kind of support for labor rights and for the right of newspapers to print the workers’ side of the story that partisans of the Militant are gaining leading up to a January 25 court hearing on the C.W. Mining lawsuit. The owners of the Co-Op Mine near Huntington, Utah, have sued the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), 16 miners there who have fought for UMWA representation, other supporters of the coal miners, and the Militant and two Salt Lake City daily newspapers on charges of defamation and unfair labor practices.

ILWU Local 19 has helped win solidarity with the Co-Op miners in the Pacific Northwest, organizing tours of the miners in the area and sending delegations to Utah. “We can’t depend on the government, the courts, or the NLRB [National Labor Relations Board] to protect workers’ rights,” Fisher said. “It takes solidarity.”

International Longshoremen’s Association Local 21 president James Eli in Beaumont, Texas, told supporters of the Militant the local had decided to support the Militant Fighting Fund and contribute $500. The local’s action followed a presentation to a union meeting attended by 40 members. Many of the longshoremen had been following the story of the Sago Mine disaster and were eager to side with a labor fight closely tied to the struggle for the UMWA and safety in the mines.

From Miami, Robin Schuler, president of Service Employees International Union Local 11, endorsed the Militant Fighting Fund and contributed $250. Marleine Bastien, executive director of Haitian Women of Miami, Andre Balash, secretary-treasurer of the UNITE HERE union Local 355, and Juvais Harrington, Miami-Dade NAACP president, also endorsed.

The Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance also voted unanimously at its monthly statewide meeting to endorse.

Betsy Farley from Seattle, Tony Dutrow from Houston, Eric Simpson from Miami, and Susan LaMont from Birmingham contributed to this article.

Related articles:
Cintas-backed lawsuit aims to crush unionization efforts

Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home