From: ILC <•••@••.•••>Date: June 18, 2010 2:32:26 PM ISTTo: Recipient List Suppressed:;Subject: From USLAW: Protests to Greet Israeli Ship in Oakland on Sunday, June 20
[please excuse duplicate postings, please distribute widely]
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:43:37 -0400 (EDT)From: “U.S. Labor Against the War” <•••@••.•••>
ISRAELI SHIP HEADED TO OAKLANDWILL BE MET BY PICKETS
Labor & Community Coalition
puts out an “UNWELCOME” sign
Asks dock workers not to load or unload the ship
SUNDAY, JUNE 20 at 5:30 am
and again at 4:00 pm
Port of Oakland, SSA Terminal, Berths 57-58
1717 Middle Harbor Road
No parking is available at the site.
Park at West Oakland BART Station.
- BART does not run at that time on Sundays so arrange another way to get there: carpool, bus, bike, etc.
- Car pool coordination: 510-282-7032 Logistical Information: 415-821-6545
- Latest information: www.answersf.org or www.transportworkers.org
- Legal Hotline: 415-285-1011
- Gather at the West Oakland BART station at 5:00 a.m. for a ride to the demonstration site
- Wear appropriate clothing (layers) and bring food, water, hat and sunscreen
Don’t sleep-in. Make history!
With news of the arrival of an Israeli ship in the Port of Oakland, CA this Sunday, a large coalition of organizations announced it will demonstrate at the terminal of Stevedoring Services of America (SSA), where the ship is scheduled to dock. The mass picket at the Port of Oakland is the latest Bay Area reaction to the May 31st Israeli attack on the humanitarian aid Gaza Freedom Flotilla. It also responds to a unified call by the Palestinian Trade Unions for dock workers around the world to refuse to load or unload Israeli cargo and ships.
Demonstrators will demand an end to the blockade of Gaza and dismantling of the Israeli apartheid wall.In San Francisco in 1984, a similar picket line and longshoremen’s refusal to unload a ship carrying South African cargo was a key event that mobilized the global anti-apartheid movement and inspired similar actions by dockworkers worldwide.
The Labor-Community Committee in Support of the Palestinian People includes more than two dozen organizations that are mobilizing their members and supporters to picket the terminal to asko members of the ILWU Local 10 not to unload the ship. Under the terms of the ILWU contract, longshore workers are not required to cross a picketline if doing so presents a risk to their health or safety.Both the Alameda Labor Council and the San Francisco Labor Council, following a
strong statement issued by U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW), adopted resolutions (links below) condemning the murderous assault by the Israel military on humanitarian aid vessels in international waters. Both resolutions also call for Israel to lift its illegal siege of Gaza to permit the free flow of goods and people. That demand has been echoed by governments, unions and civil society organizations around the world.Both labor councils have issued a call to union members in the Bay Area to join this demonstration. The action has also been endorsed by the Bay Area Chapter of USLAW and the Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice.Internationally, a
growing list of organizations have condemned the Israeli assault that led to the murder of nine or more passengers (six more are unaccounted for), the injury of many more, and commandeering of the flotilla and kidnapping of more than 700 other passengers — all in violation of international law. Among the labor organizations issuing statements are:
U.S. Labor Against the War
International Trade Union Confederation
World Federation of Trade Unions
WFTU Call for Boycott
International Transport Workers’ Federation
International Dockworkers Council
International Federation of Journalists
Public Services International
Education International
Trades Union International of Workers in the Building, Wood, Building Materials and Allied Industries
Building and Wood Workers International
Swedish Port Workers Union
ILWULocal 10
Australian Council of Trade Unions
Maritime Union of Australia
Congress of South African Trade Unions
Trade Union Congress (U.K.)
Histadrut (on lifting Gaza blockade)
Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (Response to Histadrut)
Arab American Union Members Council
UNISON (U.K.)
UNITE (U.K.)
National Union of Journalists (U.K.)
IMPACT (Ireland)
Scottish Trades Union Congress
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Egyptian Workers
Norwegian Labor Federation (LO)
Norwegian Dock Workers Union
Alameda Labor Council
Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace & Justice
San Francisco Labor CouncilSwedish and Norwegian dock workers’ unions have announced they will boycott Israeli ships starting next week. The South African dockworkers’ union is also expected to take action. That makes the Oakland demonstration on Sunday the first shipping boycott action in the world since the deadly commando raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. The ILWU will come under extreme pressure to send its members to work the ship – from the employer, the shipping line, the Israeli government, and possibly U.S. government.It would be very helpful if ILWU leaders received messages of solidarity and support from unions and social justice organizations across the U.S. and around the world.
Send your messages to:ILWU President Bob McEllrath- •••@••.•••ILWU Secretary-Treasurer William Adams- •••@••.•••ILWU Local 10 President Richard Mead •••@••.•••ILWU Local 10 Secretary-Treasurer Farless Dailey •••@••.•••ILWU Local 10 Executive Board member Jack Heyman •••@••.•••
and a copy to USLAW at •••@••.•••
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