Vol. 77/No. 5      February 11, 2013

February 12, 1988

SEATTLE—On January 13, dockworkers here shut down all major ports in Washington and Oregon. They were protesting a union-busting probe by ITT-Rayonier, a major forest products corporation and exporter that is a subsidiary of ITT Corp.

The 38-hour shutdown was the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union’s answer to ITT-Rayonier’s proposal to use nonunion labor to load logs onto ships in Port Angeles, Washington. The ILWU has long had a strong position in all major loading and unloading work up and down the West Coast.

Longshoremen on the West Coast have watched closely developments on the East Coast and Gulf ports. There, nonunion operators and operators who negotiate contracts for lower wages and benefits with unions other than the International Longshoremen’s Union have made big inroads.

February 11, 1963

President Kennedy’s attempt to jam nuclear warheads down Canada’s throat has caused the downfall of Prime Minister Diefenbaker’s government. National elections scheduled for April will center around two issues: acceptance or rejection of nuclear arms and Canada’s right to govern itself without U.S. interference.

Because of the rapid takeover of the Canadian economy in the past two decades by U.S. big business, there is wide popular opposition to U.S. attempts to run Canada’s political life. Consequently all four major parties in the country denounce (at least for the record) U.S. interference. But all three capitalist parties are committed or compromised on accepting nuclear arms—Diefenbaker’s position was not that of rejecting but delaying on acceptance. Only the New Democratic Party, the labor party, is opposed to nuclear armament and to testing.

February 12, 1938

JERSEY CITY, N.J.—Organized Labor gained its biggest victory against the anti-union policies of “I am the Law” Frank Hague, boss of Jersey City, when the Crucible Steel strikers won the majority of their demands after one week’s shut-down of the plant.

Picket lines were maintained throughout the strike, although Hague has often threatened “drastic action” against any C.I.O. union which organized in his bailiwick.

The morale of the Crucible unionists had been low in some departments when the strike began. The workers today are the most spirited in the state. Every one of them understands the great chances they had taken when a strike was called in Hague’s anti-labor territory.

Already, in other steel plants, organizing is proceeding more rapidly. Five union men were reinstated in one big steel plant.