Thousands of dockworkers protest Iraq war.
Yesterday, more than 25,000 dockworkers in 29 West Coast ports stayed off the job in order to protest the Iraq war, according to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. “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.”
UpdateThe Zoo has more coverage.
Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date
41 Responses to “Thousands of dockworkers protest Iraq war.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Register
RSSLogin
View Most Popular
Visit Our Affiliated Site
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
Reports
In depth studies on select topics
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Beck
Big Oil
Bolton
Bush
Cheney
Civil Rights
Dobbs
Drudge
Economy
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Feith
Fox News
GI Bill
Global Warming
Guantanamo
Hagee
Health Care
Immigration
Impeachment
Iran
Iraq
Justice
Kristol
LGBT
Lieberman
McCain
McClellan
Media
Military
O'Hanlon
O'Reilly
Obama
Politics
Race
Radical Right
Rove
Terrorism
Third Bush Term
Torture
Veterans
Wiretapping
Women's Rights
ArchivesBlog RollAbout Think ProgressContact Us
Donate
Thank you!….Blessings
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:37 amNow….if the rest of the intelligent Americans did the same thing, we may be able to get something done about this bloody, illegal occupation.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 amYeah, and this was the lead story on all the network news shows last night!
Uh, NOT.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:41 amGosh, I thought the only time people would gather en masse to protest these days is for an immigration march. Kudos, dockworkers.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:48 amCool. This story needs lots of attention.
We blogged about this at TheZoo yesterday.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:51 amDon’t know how many poster were around during the Nam ara, or how many realize just how huge this really is…..The dock worker’s were not with all us hippie’s way back when we were marching against that war…..I say Bravo to all the dock worker’s and keep in mind if we want to bring this country to it’s knees and cause real change this is what it will take,,,Trucker’s and dock worker’s do make a big impact and can change this entire mess by joining us…..Give them support and join them every time……Blessings
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:51 amYo, reptard, uh, I mean leftright: it might behoove you to absorb the FACT that 71% - SEVENTY ONE PERCENT - of Americans are against Chimpy’s little Iraq adventure…
Just sayin’.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:57 amAre these the same ports that Bush/Cheney wanted to sell to the UAE?
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:57 amI thought it was interesting (and also uncovered by the media) that Iraqi dockworkers in Umm Qasr and Khor az-Zubair returned the favor:
http://www.democracynow.org/ 2008/ 5/ 1/ defying_employers_anti_war_dockworkers_plan
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:59 amleftright Says:
This really shows your intelligence. In your mind the only thing that qualifies an intelligent person is one that agrees with you? Hahahahahaha how progressive of you!
And “This really shows your intelligence” is probably fairly high… for a 6 year old.
So?
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:01 amleftright Says:
This really shows your intelligence. In your mind the only thing that qualifies an intelligent person is one that agrees with you? Hahahahahaha how progressive of you!
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
_____
Thank you for stopping by to prove his point.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:01 amOne Big Union - just what we need!
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:02 amThis is true patriotism. Standing up for what you believe in. Even to the point of risking your livelihood to protest something that you know is wrong. Support the troops. End the occupation. We’ve spent too long intervening in a civil war in a nation half a world away.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:09 amYesterday, more than 25,000 dockworkers in 29 West Coast ports stayed off the job in order to protest the Iraq war, according to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
(Standing up at work and applauding)
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:09 amBravo, my good men and women, bravo!
Most American’s don’t know that May Day is International Workers Day or Labor Day. It is a day celebrated around the world, in practically every country but America, to honor the labor movement. Workers all over the world march in recognition of those who have sacrificed for their rights to fair work conditions.
In America we move Labor Day to the last Monday in May to separate it from the international labor movement. And then we eviscerate the meaning of the holiday. Treating it as a three-day weekend which heralds the beginning of Summer. Labor day in America is best known for sales, movies, and picnics.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 amSOLIDARNOSC!
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:15 amThanks for the link, Amanda. :)
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:20 amA strong dislike for Bush is probably a very good test for intelligence. If you don’t hate that POS, you are either making tons of money from war profiteering, or you are dumb as the rock you crawled out from under.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:24 am#17-rastaman
Wytworny w mowie.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:27 amTrucker’s to go out again today…..Boater’s complaining about fuel cost’s….NWCN.com- my local new’s has been covering all this….Blessings
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:36 amThis country does not give due respect to working people and trade unions and has helped erode the protections which were hard won, but have been under continual attack from the Right, especially since the presidency of Ronnie the-union-buster Reagan. Under the current administration, with its contempt for law and justice, that erosion has accelerated.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:38 amThank you Longshoremen.
now, if only many other labor unions would follow suit.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:39 amIf nothing else, this move by the ILWU demonstrates that the American people potentially have vast reserves of grassroots political power at their disposal, provided that we have the creativity and the motivation to tap it. In fact, it may be one of the few remaining means left to us through which we could still hope to bring about change in this country. At this stage, I think we can all agree that there doesn’t seem to be much reason to think that our Congresscritters will be of much help in that regard — the overwhelming majority of them, Democrat and Republican alike, seem to have forgotten that their job is to serve us and all of us instead of themselves and/or the select few with large amounts of ready cash.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:44 amMore proof that the MSM is far from “liberal” - this got little to no notice beyond blogs.
But it’s hugely significant. The Republicans are bringing up the same old fallacy - that Democrats and Democratic politics does not speak to the “regular guy/gal,” the “working man/woman” and in particular “white blue-collar men.” The anti-war message carried by 25,000+ people and articulated by the union’s leader demonstrates clearly that it’s the Republican message that doesn’t speak to this constituency.
Democrats should not be afraid to stand up for their platform - ENDING the war in Iraq, health insurance for all, improving our envirionment, etc. The American people are clamoring for the Democratic platform and only Democrats can let them down.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:45 amThank you longshoremen and thank you TP!
Don’t mean to be repetitive (I posted this snippet yesterday) but here’s one of my favorite parts (other than them doing this to protest the Iraq war):
‘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.’
my bolding..
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 ampeople power…good to see people getting into the streets and taking some positive action rather than worrying about the latest hollywood soap opera
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:54 amAs Annie said, what coverage on any channels last night, I saw nothing local or national. Same old, same old. Thank you TP and the Internet.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:03 pmAs usual the “Liberal Media” (my ass) has been told by their corporate masters to not give this a second of air time…Cheney’s office must have been pretty busy telling them not to give a second of air time to this.
WORST, MOST CRIMINAL PRESIDENT IN HISTORY
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 pmIf the truckers that are going on strike coordinate their efforts with the dock workers other unions will feel required to join them.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 pmI’m a little surprised that Bushco didn’t call out the dogs on them. Way to go, workers. A new labor movement in the country would put the corporations on their collective ass.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:51 pmYeah, this is really smart. Let’s put our economy in further danger by striking all our west coast ports. I suggest next time they try something that doesn’t hurt the rest of the American people.
freedomspeaks.com - speak out. be heard.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:04 pmfletc3her Says
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Most American’s don’t know that May Day is International Workers Day or Labor Day. It is a day celebrated around the world, in practically every country but America, to honor the labor movement. Workers all over the world march in recognition of those who have sacrificed for their rights to fair work conditions.
In America we move Labor Day to the last Monday in May to separate it from the international labor movement. And then we eviscerate the meaning of the holiday. Treating it as a three-day weekend which heralds the beginning of Summer. Labor day in America is best known for sales, movies, and picnics.
_____________________________________
Not to be overly picky, but I believe the holiday at the end of May that has come to herald the beginning of summer is Memorial Day, not Labor Day. Labor Day is observed in the United States on the first Monday in September — also with sales, movies, and picnics — and this three-day weekend signals the end of summer and the end of the period where one can wear white shoes without getting laughed at.
I think the protest by the ILWU is admirable. I would love to see more unions make similar stands on September 1.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:15 pm“freedomspeaks” - how does a one-day strike hurt the economy?
Surely shoppers can wait one more day for a few containers of imported goods to hit the shelves?
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:19 pmAnd besides, “freedomspeaks”, if you don’t hit the powers-that-be in the pocketbook how else can you get their attention?
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:20 pmThe truth about war and the control of us citizens http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com This is what happens when power is in the wrong hands. It’s sad when you take Authority as the truth , instead of Truth as the Authority. Take two hours out of your life to change the way you look at AUTHORITY AND THE WORLD.
PEACE.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:34 pmThey have the support of 71% of the american people and the full support from the rest o the world community!
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:36 pmfreedomspeaks Says:
Yeah, this is really smart. Let’s put our economy in further danger by striking all our west coast ports. I suggest next time they try something that doesn’t hurt the rest of the American people.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
_____
That’s the purpose of a strike. You show that little people have the power to demand change.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm“freedomspeaks” really seems to miss the point of a strike.
Duh.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:09 pmleftright Says:
This really shows your intelligence. In your mind the only thing that qualifies an intelligent person is one that agrees with you? Hahahahahaha how progressive of you!
It’s time for your koolaid break, nitwit.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:21 pmmary Says:
“freedomspeaks” - how does a one-day strike hurt the economy?
Surely shoppers can wait one more day for a few containers of imported goods to hit the shelves?
Good point Mary. The friggin WalMarts here in FL weren’t closing their doors.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:28 pmIt was so good to see this happen! I was around in the era of Vietnam protests and this protest of the dockworkers made my heart sing. We are in the trucking world and so glad to see what happened in DC. Another way we are protesting is to sport bandanas on our vehicles, backpacks, briefcases, clothing, etc. and on the last day of each month to purchase absolutely nothing wherever possible. Bandanas are sort of a symbol of a working person, and by not purchasing anything one day a month, the last day, it does speak to corporate america. Hope you will join us with this quiet protest as well as with all of the noiser ones. Thanks to all of you for doing what you are doing, I enjoy reading TP regularly, love your comments.
Namaste
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:44 pm