Wow great stuff -very cheering
Patrick
-----Original Message-----
From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Stephen Vincent
Sent: 01 May 2008 19:42
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: War Protest/West Coast Dockworkers
Poetry-in-Motion - the Bush/Cheney Collective Paralysis Machine is Not
Entirely Omnipresent/pervasive. A bit of America is still breathing on one
of its edges! Go dockworkers. Hope there is a poet or two among you! To wit:
Thousands of dockworkers at West Coast ports stayed off the job on Thursday
in what their union said was a call for an end to the war in Iraq.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said more than
25,000 members in 29 ports stayed off the job. The action came despite an
order issued Wednesday by an arbitrator directing the union to tell its
members to report for work as usual in response to a request from employers.
"Longshore workers are standing down on the job and standing up for
America," Bob McEllrath, the union's president, said in a statement. "We're
supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time
to end the war in Iraq."
The scene at most West Coast ports was quiet, without any scuffles or
confrontations. The cranes used to unload container ships stood idle and few
trucks were lined up outside gates.
Guillermo Durell, 45, a truck driver, was at the Los Angeles-area port of
Long Beach. "I got up at 6 a.m. to drop a load off," he said. "When I got
here the security guard said 'Drop this, but that's it. We're all leaving.'
"
Mr. McEllrath said the walkout was not ordered by the union's leadership,
but was the result of a "democratic decision" made by the rank and file in
February to demonstrate on May 1, a traditional day for labor activism.
He said employers were notified in advance of the plan, but refused to
accommodate the union's request, instead seeking the arbitrator's ruling.
The longshore union and other labor groups are planning marches and
rallies in various cities along the West Coast, and authorities in some
location warned that these activities could snarl traffic during the evening
commute.
Rebecca Cathcart contributed reporting from Long Beach, Calif.
Stephen Vincent
http://stephenvincent.net/blog/
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