The newsletter reports on Bay Area longshoremen's refusal to unload South African cargo at Pier 80, as an act of militant solidarity with the struggle of South African blacks against the apartheid regime and in support of the powerful stay-away strikes waged by the black trade unions. Hundreds of people from labor, socialist and community organizations demonstrated at Pier 80 in support of the actions of Local 10 members, getting largely favorable TV coverage. The Saturday morning gangs for the Nedlloyd Kimberley were not filled, so the ship was not worked at all; Saturday night, the gangs discharged Australian cargo but then refused to work the South African cargo. They were then fired for...
The newsletter reports on Bay Area longshoremen's refusal to unload South African cargo at Pier 80, as an act of militant solidarity with the struggle of South African blacks against the apartheid regime and in support of the powerful stay-away strikes waged by the black trade unions. Hundreds of people from labor, socialist and community organizations demonstrated at Pier 80 in support of the actions of Local 10 members, getting largely favorable TV coverage. The Saturday morning gangs for the Nedlloyd Kimberley were not filled, so the ship was not worked at all; Saturday night, the gangs discharged Australian cargo but then refused to work the South African cargo. They were then fired for "failure to work as directed." On Monday, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) demanded that the union be found guilty of an "illegal work stoppage"; instead, the arbitrator ruled against the men who refused to handle the cargo for reasons of consciousness. Nothing is left on the ship except South African cargo, and every longshoreman dispatched has refused to handle it. If the courts issue an injunction, it should be ignored. Our brothers and sisters in South Africa almost daily stand up to army and police bullets, beatings, arrests, mass firings, and deportation. Our action, like that of Australian maritime workers-who have refused to work ships bound for South Africa, is a powerful demonstration of internationalism. The newsletter discusses the arbitration procedure, the Levin strike, non-ILWU labor, the Reagan regime, the Soweto uprising, the heavily black East Coast ILA (International Longshoremen's Association), the Gibson and Golden cases, and International President Herman.
