Saturday, June 19, 2010
Dockworker action against Israeli ships moves Sunday to the port of Oakland
by Larry Geller
Tomorrow (6/20/2010) an Israeli ship will be picketed when it arrives at the port of Oakland at around 5:30 a.m. California time. It is expected that ILWU workers will honor the picket line and refuse to unload the ship.
The action would be similar to 11-day West Coast dockworker strike against the apartheid South African regime in 1984. In fact, the Congress of South African Trade Unions has already announced similar actions against Israeli ships, as have the trade unions in Norway, Sweden and Malaysia.
Unions, labor federations and other organizations around the world have condemned Israel’s deadly attack against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on May 31. Nine people were killed and dozens seriously injured in the Israeli commando attack in international waters on ships attempting to bring humanitarian cargo to the suffering and blockaded people of Gaza. Six people aboard the ships are still missing and presumed dead.
The Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla was a blatant act of piracy on the high seas. No Israeli ship should now be allowed to carry on trading activity any where in the world without facing picket lines, protests and embargo. Dock workers in several countries including South Africa, Norway, Sweden and Malaysia have declared that they will refuse to handle Israeli cargo in the coming weeks. [transportworkers.org, 6/20/2010 Oakland Labor Community Picket of an Israeli Zim Line ship, 6/15/2010]
See also more articles at transportworkers.org.
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