In a move declared “borderline sedition” by one union watchdog group,  Longshore Union members are among the unions behind the planned shut down of West Coast ports scheduled for Monday. The planned shutdown is being coordinated by the union backed Occupy groups from Seattle to Oakland.

While the help from Longshore Union members appears to be in defiance of union headquarters’ public statements on the matter, privately self identified Longshore Union members were at one of the first planning meetings for the planned shutdown. The meeting took place at Portland’s St. Francis of Assisi Church on SE 12th Avenue last Thursday, December 1st. St. Francis is the meeting place of many left wing groups in Portland.

ILWU Helps Block Steel Bridge

At about minute 15 in this VERY hard to hear TAPE of most of the meeting, a man asks and the facilitator echoes a request to have union members stand–and ILWU members especially. According to the person who recorded the meeting (whom I will identify only if they desire), about ten people stood up and about four identified themselves as ILWU members.

Brett McMahon of the pro small business group, “Halt the Assault” told me on the program that this activity by ILWU is illegal. In fact he told me, it’s borderline sedition to plot to shut down a federal port. The attorney said, “I hope they do stuff like this. Videotape these guys. This is illegal.”

ILWU Clashes w/Cops in Longview

ILWU in Longview AP Photo

I also talked on the air with the Port of Portland spokesman Josh Thomas who had a different take. He said that ILWU isn’t officially supporting the shut down and that’s the only thing that matters contractually with the Port. In other words, we don’t want to see what they’re really doing because we don’t want to pick a fight with the Longshoremen. And who can blame them, really? Look what happens when a friendly reporter simply wants to get an interview with one of the Longview Longshore members.

Longshore members have been seen at nearly every Occupy Portland rally and have been seen at the first planning session for the port shutdown held last week. I saw several self identified ILWU members at the major show down when the Portland Police Bureau attempted to roust Occupiers from Lownsdale and Chapman Squares.

They’ve been involved in the blockade of the Steel Bridge. And of course, the Longview Longshoremen have been in a battle with the operators of the Export Grain Terminal there for giving the job of loading and unloading to another union based in Gladstone, Oregon. See my extensive posts on this here, here, here, here, here, here, here,   here, and here for starters. 

The International has in fact released a document in support of the Occupy movement. See it nearby.

And the ILWU Local 21 President, Dan Coffman, went to the Oakland port blockade and acted as cheerleader in chief:

At a recent “GA,” General Assembly by a small group of Occupy Portlanders, a Citizen Journalist heard them refer to the Longshore union. Listen as they declare the union can’t officially help them (with a bunch of weasel words thrown in and a great big BUT…)

KPAM’s Eric the Great Peterson has isolated the money shot here.
However, they claim, the Longshoremen will support them and help with the shut down IF the blockade is done to prevent them from going to work.

Listen to it again here. 
As Business Week points out here:

Support of the shutdown among the rank-and-file may not be put to the test in some cities if sizeable protests erupt. Under the terms of the longshoremen’s contract, union officials say blockades by protesters could result in the declaration of unsafe working conditions, which would exempt workers from having to show up.

As a Longview Longshoreman told Citizen Journalist Laughing at Liberals at an Occupy Portland General Assembly recently, the clash with police in Longview was planned and so’s this one.

But here’s the question: If ILWU doesn’t support the port shutdown, why do its members keep coming to planning meetings to, er, shut down the port?
My mama used to tell me: If it walks like a duck…