Union longshoreman thugs in action.

[powderman]

  LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha.
Six guards were held hostage for a couple of hours after 500 or more Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. and smashed windows in the guard shack, he said.
No one was hurt, and nobody has been arrested. Most of the protesters returned to their union hall after cutting brake lines and spilling grain from car at the EGT terminal, Duscha said.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that's staffing a workforce of other union laborers.
Thursday's violence was first reported by Kelso radio station KLOG.
Police from several agencies in southwest Washington, the Washington State Patrol and Burlington Northern Santa Fe responded to the violence to secure the scene that followed a demonstration Wednesday.
"We're not surprised," Duscha said. "A lot of the protesters were telling us this in only the start."
One sergeant was threatened with baseball bats and retreated, Duscha said. "One officer with hundreds of Longshoremen? He used the better part of discretion."
The train was the first grain shipment to arrive at Longview. It arrived Wednesday night after police arrested 19 demonstrators who tried to block the tracks. They were led by ILWU International President Robert McEllrath, who said they would return.
The blockade appeared to defy a federal restraining order issued last week against the union after it was accused of assaults and death threats.
EGT chief executive Larry Clarke said it was unfortunate that law enforcement needed to make arrests.

[magooch]

Yup, right here in my hometown.  I haven't really been keeping track of what's going on except to glance at the headlines once in a while.  The longshoremen think they have the right to all work done on port property.  Maybe they do and maybe they don't.  It should be easy enough to prove their point if they can produce a contract to that effect.  That needs to be done in court and I would think if they do have such a contract, that is where they would be instead of going to war with the cops.  I think some local constuction and operators unions might also be involved.  This could get very, very messy.  Unions are very strong in this area and a lot of local politicos are beholding to them.  Just the same, I think it is stupid to rumble with the cops.  The cops are only there to maintain order and protect the innocent.  They try not to take sides, but sometimes some hotheads don't give the leos any choice.

I watched the local swat team training a while back and from what I saw, the longshore boys don't want them to show up.  I don't know where they found the guys I saw, but they looked like they could start their own NFL team.
 

[gypsyman]

Glad to see it. Maybe these union boys, will get a taste of their own medicine!! They've been unloading goods for years from overseas, and putting their own union brothers out of work. Cars, appliances,clothing, whatever. I'd like to see a bunch of union thugs from other unions show up, and have a real battle. Kinda like 2 drug dealers shooting at each other over territory. Hope they both lose. gypsyman

[magooch]

It will eventually get worked out.  As I see it, one of the prime factors that instigates these situations is the port trying to do more than they should.  The Port of Longview was established as most ports, to fascilitate shipment of goods in and out by ship.  I realize that some port authorities do other things; I'm not so sure it is the way to go, since the port continues to receive tax money to subsidize it's operations.  In the case of The Port of Longvierw, they have acquired a lot of property adjacent to the port and have been developing it as an industrial area.  Some of the operations there are a bit of a gray area, because they are somewhat related to shipping, but not actually loading and unloading of ships.
 
The port should be a self supporting entity and should not be supported by local property taxes.  I don't really live in Longview and couldn't care less about the port, but because I live in the county, there is a tax levy that goes to the port.  Believe me, I'm not the only one who resents having to support a nice fascility for the longshoremen to ply their trade at.  Their wages are some of the highest in the area.  I don't mean any of this to be critical of them, but they didn't support the industry that I worked in with their property taxes, nor should they have.

[Shu]

Maybe I miss the point about employeers hiring who they want or buisness owners hiring who they want. I know if someone walked into my office demanding that I owe him a job, I'd help him find the door right back out with out the job. Sense of entitlement does not earn a paycheck, hard work does.

[ironglow]

  The citizens and businesses of Washington State will surely now get justice....
   http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/09/nlrb-investigates-longshoremen-union-for-strike-gone-wrong/?test=latestnews
 
  Yeah, right ! ...By the same National Labor Relations Board that would have Boeing move to China, rather than to South Carolina !!   Anyone think these thugs will get punished by them ?        
 
   I understand the local law may be doing something in the interest of justice, however ?
 
  Magooch; any chance the local politicians will let the law take it's course and bring the thugs to justice ?
 
 
 

[magooch]

According to our local paper, the longshoremen allege that EGT had promised to hire longshoremen to operate their new grain fascility.  EGT says they only promised to bargain with the ILWU (longshore union).  I think it is fair to say that at the least, the ILWU was misled, or maybe straight out lied to by EGT, but the question is, what is on paper and legally binding.  EGT is the one who has taken the matter to court.
 
What it all boils down to is that the longshore pay scales are more than what EGT wants to pay.  EGT doesn't have a monopoly on grain exporting, so they have to be competitive and they're not in bidness for the hell of it.  I think both sides might have to give a little.

[ironglow]

According to our local paper, the longshoremen allege that EGT had promised to hire longshoremen to operate their new grain fascility.  EGT says they only promised to bargain with the ILWU (longshore union).  I think it is fair to say that at the least, the ILWU was misled, or maybe straight out lied to by EGT, but the question is, what is on paper and legally binding.  EGT is the one who has taken the matter to court.
 
What it all boils down to is that the longshore pay scales are more than what EGT wants to pay.  EGT doesn't have a monopoly on grain exporting, so they have to be competitive and they're not in bidness for the hell of it.  I think both sides might have to give a little.

***********************************************************************
  It would seem that if EGW didn't honor an agreement with the union, the next step would be off to court.  It surely is not a license for wholesale thuggery..destroying property asnd buildings as well as interfering with interstate commerce.  National Labor Relations Board should not be involved..this is CRIMINAL action and should be treated as such !

[Graybeard]

It is my opinion that labor unions today are the single entity worse than the politicians ruining the economy today. I say do away with all of them.

[Doublebass73]

Here's a classic story of union longshoreman thuggery in South Boston back in '06. To make a long story short they had their children on the payroll at a young age so that when they were old enough to go to work they'd have higher starting wages and increased benefits:
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=900005460031&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1

[ironglow]

My son has a friend in Portland,,,when the story broke we asked him what's up with the Longshoremen out there....his reply was short fwiw:
 
"Our grain is being shipped to China for debts due and since we have few grain elevators still working in our country huge trains miles long has been transporting harvested grain to Seattle and Portland to put on ships bound for China,...Longshoremen are upset about this, and are also being cut out of their transport duties..."
 
TM7

  TM ;
    I see what you mean..that the longshoremen were irate and dissatisfied, but that is what courts are for.  This should be no excuse for thuggery and property destruction !
   Now, non-union freight handlers may be disturbed that the union members are getting more money for the same work the non-union workers would gladly do for less.  Should the non-union workers get away with it if they did the same kind of vandalism and law breaking as the union guys ?  I doubt it !

[Cabin4]

The term union has become synonyms with thuggary and violence. We can thank the unions in large part for momentum years ago of jobs being off-shored. They are thier own worst enemy and a terror to the rest.
 

[Savage .250]

Shades of the ....old days!     

[magooch]

The export of grain to China has nothing to do with the conflict.  That may well be where some of the grain is bound, but the ILWU isn't concerned about that.  They are only concerned that they maintain their monopoly over jobs that are on port property.  I can't blame them for being protective of their bailiwick, but they haven't done themselves any favor by going balistic.
 
Ironglow,
The local sheriff has vowed to review the evidence of the fracas that took place the other day and arrest the offenders.  By not effectively policing their protesters, the ILWU has probably damaged any claims that they have been wronged and it is they who should have taken this whole matter to court.  I'm pretty sure that the union leadership is now having to seriously consider what this might eventually cost in financial terms and public sympathy.
 
That said, there most certainly are two sides to this story and for this to have gotten this far without a legal and binding resolution says something about the stakes.

[magooch]

Here's a little update on the longshore labor dispute in my locale:  The national president of the ILWU has turned himself in to authorities on various charges for condoning violence and vandalism.  The National Labor Relations Board has levied a $293,000 fine on the ILWU for damages to property and compensation for law enforcement expenses.  At least 135 union members and supporters have been arrested and await their day in court.
 
The union has countered by filing a measure to recall the local sheriff.
 
All of this and I still have not seen anything where the union has any legally binding contract with EGT--the grain exporting fascility.  No matter how this plays out, I don't think the union has improved their lot.

[Cabin4]

Unions pose more of a threat to our national security than any terrorist.

[SwampThing762]

C4, well said, sir.   That being said, maybe we should put some unions on the domestic terrorism watch list.  We can start with the Longshoremen in Seattle.

ST762

[gypsyman]

Not that I'm changing my opinion on unions, but, there have been times I'ld have to go along with them. We had an incidence here in Toledo, at a union plant. AP Parts, manufacturing plant for Auto parts. I think maybe 10 years ago or so. Company wanted to renagotiat the contract. So the union guys sat down and it took several months. But, they hammered out a new contract, and the union gave in some concessions. Hourly, as well as benifits. Couple months later, a news article came out, and reported that the management boss's had received a couple million in bonus's, do to saving the company so much money. Never heard of anyone getting hurt, but, if I was one of the managment guys, I think I'da hired a couple security guys to escort me in and out of the parking lot! gypsyman

[ironglow]

Not that I'm changing my opinion on unions, but, there have been times I'ld have to go along with them. We had an incidence here in Toledo, at a union plant. AP Parts, manufacturing plant for Auto parts. I think maybe 10 years ago or so. Company wanted to renagotiat the contract. So the union guys sat down and it took several months. But, they hammered out a new contract, and the union gave in some concessions. Hourly, as well as benifits. Couple months later, a news article came out, and reported that the management boss's had received a couple million in bonus's, do to saving the company so much money. Never heard of anyone getting hurt, but, if I was one of the managment guys, I think I'da hired a couple security guys to escort me in and out of the parking lot! gypsyman

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   Gypsyman;
   Agreed, that was rotten !