Port Workers Take Action for Global Justice

Tim Newman, Campaigns Assistant, International Labor Rights Forum

In the past few weeks, there have been two exciting examples of global labor solidarity.  Port workers in South Africa and the U.S. have both taken action in recently to show their support for global justice. 

South Africa

In South Africa, the SA Transit and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), refused to unload a ship carrying weapons from China to be sent to Zimbabwe.  SATAWU, with the support of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), took action to stand in solidarity with workers in Zimbabwe.  After the controversial recent election in Zimbabwe, many are concerned that Mugabe would use the weapons to crack down on activists, including trade union members.  Mozambique and other Southern African nations have also refused to unload weapons for the landlocked government of Zimbabwe. 

Randal Howard, secretary general of SATAWU said, "We have a moral obligation to provide solidarity that does not allow the Mugabe regime to continue to undermine human and trade union rights with impunity.  We are not puppets of any imperialist forces as we equally deplore imperialism that undermines the sovereignty of African nation states to determine their own destinies."

Check out this statement from COSATU for more information.

United States

On May Day, over 25,000 longshore workers shut down ports all along the U.S. West Coast to call for an end to the war in Iraq.  The action was led by rank-and-file ILWU workers who made the decision on February to take action against the war on May 1st.  While the employer association, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), did not approve the action, workers continued with their protest and sent a clear message that it's time for an end to the war in Iraq.  The workers specficially chose May 1 (International Workers' Day) for their strike to show their commitment to global justice.  Check out the ILWU press release here.  Check out this column by Peter Cole in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about the ILWU action.

Both of these actions are strong examples of the power workers can show when they stand in solidarity together across borders.