Dear Brothers and Sisters of ILWU local 10,

WE IMPEACH THE attack of the police to the longshoremen and unprovoked arrest of Mr. Jack Heyman with full anger!

We heard the news of big suppression by police in Oakland, Monday April 7. This attack is unforgivable and we are unable to restrain our anger. At present we don?t have enough information, but the essence of situation is quite clear.

It is one thing-Bloody slaughter for Iraqi people by Bush Administrations and the attack to destroy the unity of workers fighting against war. Bush Administrations is trembling with fear facing the record-breaking upsurge of anti-war struggle in all over the world.

Therefore they attacked the organized workers-center of this struggle. We?ve read some reports on the fight against Iraq war and Taft-Hartley by Mr. Jack Heyman. We approve of his point of view entirely.

If our judgment is not wrong, in order to destroy ILWU (traditional base of labor movement), they targeted Mr. Jack Heyman who is leading this movement and reveals shrewdly the essence of Iraq war.

The same situation has started also in Japan. 7 KOKURO (National Railway Workers' Union) members and 1 supporter are still in prison for 6 months only for the reason that they protested against the headquarters of KOKURO who surrendered and promised to end dismissal withdrawal struggle against the Liberal Democratic Party government supporting Iraq war by Bush.

The Liberal Democratic Party is repeating this kind of suppression and aiming to enact war bills (bills for destroying Article 9 of the Constitution which specifies disarmament and the renunciation of war in order to build war organization) on the Diet in April or May.

We will keep on fighting in succession with the strike in this March against any kind of union busting and an attempt to wage war.

We will report this brutal suppression in Oakland to the workers in Japan as much as we can, and appeal to support the movement to release Mr. Jack Heyman immediately.

In Solidarity!

April 12, 2003
TANAKA YASUHIRO
President of DORO-CHIBA(The National Railway Motive Power Union of Chiba)
Phone; 011-81-043-222-7207
Fax;   011-81-043-224-7197
E-mail; doro-chiba@www.doro-chiba.org