Labor conference tackles war & racism

More than 100 local, national and international union workers, community and anti-war activists and progressive political organizations met on Oct. 20 in San Francisco at the “Labor Conference to Stop the War” at the ILWU Local 10 union hall.

The conference initiators stated: “San Francisco ILWU Longshore Local 10 and Ship Clerks’ Local 34, carrying on the militant tradition of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, have organized solidarity actions in defense of workers’ struggles and against oppression. It is our intent that this conference will spark workers to take the anti-war struggle beyond street protests to industrial actions, including strikes.”

They went on to say: “The bold actions at the start of the Iraq war by railroad workers in Scotland, Italy and Japan were important steps, but they lacked leadership and coordination with other transport unions. Australian longshoremen and French dockers before them helped bring an end to the Vietnam War by organizing. These exemplary actions have shown all workers the way forward to stop the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Speakers included representatives from the largely African-American-led ILWU Local 10, including Clarence Thomas; Tim Paulson, San Francisco Labor Council; Betty Olson-Jones and Bob Mandel, Oakland Education Association; and Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families and mother of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq.

International speakers included Takumi Shimizu, Doro-Chiba Rail Union (Japan); Bob Crow, Rail, Maritime & Transport Union (Britain); and Jeremy Corbyn, Labor Party Member of Parliament (Britain). These speakers, and many others, all spoke against the current U.S.-led war and for labor solidarity in the task of ending the war.

To better understand and strategize how to end the war, several well-planned and attended workshops took place. They included “Class Struggle & the War,” “The Middle East, the War for Oil & Empire,” “Soldiers & Vets Against the War” and “War & the Destruction of Civil Liberties.”

The “Racism, Class & the War at Home” workshop was led by a diverse panel including Clarence Thomas, who chaired the panel; C.C. Campbell-Rock, a Hurricane Katrina survivor and now an activist around the rebuilding of New Orleans; Cristina Gutierrez, Barrio Unido and an immigrant rights activist; Gerald Sanders, Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal; John Parker, Troops Out Now Coalition and March 25th Coalition for Immigrant Rights; Jason Ruffin, one of two African-American members of ILWU Local 10 who were assaulted and arrested in the Aug. 23 “increased homeland security” racial profiling incident on the docks in Sacramento by both private security guards and police; and a taped message from Mumia Abu-Jamal expressing solidarity with these two ILWU members.

Campbell-Rock pointed out the need to fund the rebuilding of New Orleans instead of funding the war. Cristina Gutierrez expressed the solidarity of the Latin@ communities with the African-American communities. She pointed out the special oppression of African-Americans, whose ancestors were slaves.

Sanders noted the shameful history of early U.S. labor organizations that excluded African-American workers and the progressive struggle that finally opened unions to all workers.

Parker spoke about the great strengthening potential for the anti-war movement once it unites with the struggles of the most oppressed, especially immigrant and African-American workers in this country, and thereby builds its working class character. Parker spoke of how the weeklong anti-war encampments in both Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and the Sept. 29 marches were a step in that direction.

Ruffin explained his anger at being beaten and arrested, saying he “wasn’t raised to take a thing like that lying down,” and he plans to raise his children to fight back too.

During the ending plenary, retired ILWU Local 10 member Leo Robinson recounted the success of the longshore workers refusing to handle South African cargo during the years of racist apartheid. Also, an enthusiastic discussion took place on a draft resolution based on the collective experiences and ideas from the conference participants.