Class-conscious machinists: "Stormy petrels of west coast labor"
Submitted by IDP on Aug 22 2012 04:56
Sister machinist unions, San Francisco's Lodge 68 of the International Association of Machinists and Oakland's Local 1304 of the CIO's Steel Workers Organizing Committee (which left the IAM over a wildcat strike in 1936), had a national reputation for militancy; Lodge 68 had more strikes during World War II than all other Bay Area unions combined. Along with Local 1304, they accrued this strike record in open defiance of the National War Labor Board, who were backed by the FBI, the Office of Economic Stabilization in the White House, a Navy Vice-Admiral, the War Manpower Commission, the collective bosses, who in turn were supported by the CIO, ILWU, and Communist Party.
The San Francisco Machinists and the National War Labor Board
Richard P. Boyden
The ILWU longshore struggle in Longview and beyond: a class struggle critique
This article from August 10th, 2012 is an important rebuttal to accounts of the Longview struggle proffered by union bureaucrats and their champions. Jack Heyman is a retired Oakland longshoreman who participated in many of the Bay Area solidarity actions described in this article.
Labor historian, Cal Winslow, imparts his “wisdom” from above in his CounterPunch article (7/25/12), “Victory in Longview, A Year On: And Some Lessons From Occupy, ”.
Solidarity Unionism, Occupy, and the moral right of the working class to control the workplace
An article on the west coast Occupy port shutdowns and the IWW's model of 'solidarity unionism'.
On November 2, 2011 Occupy Oakland successfully shut down the ports in Oakland along with the approval and aid of the union, ILWU Local 10, which has a contract with the port’s legal owners. This event was a tremendous leap in consciousness and something the U.S. working class has not done nor attempted in decades.
After the First of Many Last Resorts: on ports and activists
A brief piece critiquing activists' attempted management of the #Occupy "West Coast Port Shut Down" in Portland, Oregon.
We can only conclude that the shutdown of West Coast ports on the 12th of December was a success. Commerce was stopped in a massive way up and down the coast. The material effect of this action is enormous compared with any other action in Portland within recent memory and we greet this turn towards the large-scale blockade of the circulation of commodity capital with a smile and open arms.
Blockading the Port is Only The First of Many Last Resorts
A brief piece examining the relationship between #Occupy encampments and unions, and calling for a re-imagining of what a strike looks like in a largely post-industrial context.
By any reasonable measure, the November 2 general strike was a grand success. The day was certainly the most significant moment of the season of Occupy, and signaled the possibility of a new direction for the occupations, away from vague, self-reflexive democratism and toward open confrontation with the state and capital.
The sky is always darkest just before the dawn: class struggle in the US from the 2008 crash to the eve of the occupations movement - Loren Goldner
Loren Goldner discusses working class and capitalist responses to the crisis since 2008.
Since July of 2011, the mainstream media have been increasingly talking about a “double dip” “recession” in the United States But we can safely assert that for most working people, the “recession” has never ended, and is about to get worse.
Background
Navigating negotiations
Submitted by Nate on Feb 22 2012 23:34
Nate Hawthorne takes a look at how labor-capital structures of negotiation have changed in response to worker militancy and the state changing how it deals with what capitalists do. Along the way he gets into Joe Burns' new book, the ILWU-EGT conflict, the Occupy movement and 'direct unionism'.
Recently Occupy activists helped the ILWU win a new contract.
Longview, Occupy, and Beyond: Rank and File and the 89% Unite!
Table of Contents:
I) Longview and Occupy: a warm autumn on the West Coast
II) Birth of the hip hop picket line: the Dec 12th West Coast Port Shutdown and the precarious proletariat.
III) From Dec 12th to Jan 6th: attempts at coastal solidarity, and divisions in Seattle
IV) Our response to Socialist Worker newspaper’s article
All eyes on Longview: An injury to one is an injury to all - Insurgent Notes
Submitted by Kadir Ateş on Jan 14 2012 06:18
A call-out to participation in an upcoming conflict in Longview, Washington State.
January 14, 2012
Dear friend(s) and comrade(s):
We are writing to inform you about a very serious class confrontation developing on the northwest coast of the U.S., in Longview (Washington state).
In that small city, an international grain company, EGT, owned jointly by three firms
Occupy Oakland: The port shutdown and beyond - All eyes on Longview!
Jack Gerson discusses the lessons of the Occupy movement and it's future.
On Monday December 12, the Occupy movement shut down the major west coast ports of Oakland, Portland, Longview (Washington), and Seattle. There were partial shutdowns or support actions at the ports of San Diego, Vancouver, and Long Beach, as well as in Hawaii and Japan. Wal-Mart distribution centers were blockaded in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Albuquerque.
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