LaborNet Special Report

On January 15, 2004 ILWU Local 10 members voted to have:
a stop work meeting on March 20, 2004 to demand an end to the war in Iraq, to end the occupation and to call for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S troops now. They are supporting similar actions by ports up and down the west coast. Their action will also coincide with the movement in Asia with the Doro-Chiba railway workers and the Korean Seoul KCTU workers to build an international day of labor action on March 20 against war, repression and privatization.

For more information contact ymmt-h@catv296.ne.jp
or doro-chiba@doro-chiba.org
http://www.doro-chiba.org/english/english.htm

The following statement was issued by ILWU Local 10 BA Jack Heyman:

From: Jack Heyman, ILWU Local 10, San Francisco

Yamamoto-san,

The San Francisco longshore union has voted at our membership meeting to stop work on March 20 to protest the war in Iraq. We will demand an end to the war, an end to the occupation and the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops now! We are trying to organize all ports on the U.S. West Coast to take the same action as Local 10. If they decide to follow our lead, then it will send a powerful working class message to the warmongers in Washington that we don't support imperial wars like the one in Iraq. We hope this action will coincide with yours in Japan and help to put an end to the needless slaughter in Iraq.

For international solidarity,
Jack