500 people support ILWU's fight for good jobs at EGT at rally in September 2011.
Shouting “We are union! We are community!” at least 500 union members and supporters rallied in Longview’s Civic Center on Thursday evening to support the local longshore union in its labor dispute with the EGT grain terminal at the Port of Longview.
The hourlong peaceful protest, one of the area’s largest labor demonstrations in recent memory, attracted union groups from Seattle to Portland, including public employees, boat captains, commercial food workers and construction trades.
Many of the speakers returned to the theme of a middle class under siege, and the crowd agreed. They said they feared the an ILWU loss would send shock waves through the labor community.
“If the longshoremen lose ground on this … it’s going to hurt every single union in the long run,” said Chuck Barnes, a retired union pipefitter who lives in Longview.