ILWU International President Robert McEllrath and Panama Canal Pilots Union officer Capt. Rainiero Salas view the ILWU logo at the 2012 ILWU Convention in San Diego, June 2012. Panama has been included in the logo in solidarity with the U.S. and Canada with the new affiliation of the Panama Pilots union with the ILWU. Photo by Lewis Wright.
Delegates to the 35th convention of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union [last week] voted unanimously to affiliate with the Panama Canal Pilots Union.
The 250-member union represents pilots who guide ships through the canal, providing passage for vessels moving between Asia and the U.S. East and Gulf coasts.
The affiliation follows a long history of partnerships formed by the West Coast dockworkers with maritime unions in other regions of the world. As ILWU President Bob McEllrath stated in September when the Panamanians announced their intention to affiliate with the ILWU, “With so many employers now going global, it’s critical for workers around the globe to join forces and work together.”