Bay Area workers aiding Katrina survivors

San Francisco Bay Area working people are gathering aid to ship to survivors of Hurricane Katrina in the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Initiated by U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Inter national Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 President Trent Willis and fellow Co-Chair of the Million Worker March Movement, Clarence Thomas-all African-American leaders-10 shipping containers are being filled with all types of material aid, including water, toys, clothing, linens and toiletries. The shipping companies, including Matson Navigation, American President Lines and Mersk-Sealand, supplied the containers at the request of Local 10. The first container was filled within three hours by enthusiastic local workers and union members hearing about it. Soon all ten will be trucked to the Gulf states by Teamster union drivers.

Kimberlyn Cotton, Steward Council Chair of ILWU Local 10, commented that one Local 10 member went out right away and bought 300 blankets to donate. She said, “The solidarity of Local 10 rank-and-file membership has been outstanding.” And retired Black ILWU member Leo Robinson added, “It is not unusual for Local 10 to take positions in support of people suffering, anywhere in the world.” He cited previous examples of the union practicing what it preaches including sending ambulances to young revolutionary Nicara gua in the 1980s, providing medical supplies and clothing to African refugees in camps in several countries, and stopping arms shipments to the reactionary Pino chet government of Chile after the CIA-instigated overthrow of the Salvador Allende government in 1973. He said, “These actions were initiated by the rank-and-file ILWU members, and taken up by the rest of the local.”

—J. Marquardt