Honduran authorities circulated this picture from the Oregonian in search of union dockworkers Carlos Alvarado, left, and Glen Galdames, as they picket outside Terminal 6 on March 4. Longshore workers walked off their jobs at the Port of Portland’s container terminal Tuesday in solidarity with the Hondurans, who are members of the SGTM union involved in a dispute with Filipino company ICTSI. (Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian)
News release from ILWU Coast Longshore Division:
ICTSI USES INFLUENCE WITH HONDURAN GOVERNMENT TO PERSECUTE DOCKWORKERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN PEACEFUL, LEGAL PICKET IN PORTLAND
AFL-CIO group urges US Embassy to take immediate action to protect workers from arrest and prosecution
PORTLAND, OR (MARCH 7, 2014) – The AFL-CIO-backed Solidarity Center sent a letter to the Ambassador of the United States in Honduras on March 6 urging him to “take immediate action and demand that the Honduran National Police cease and desist from actions it is taking in seeking to detain and arrest members of the Honduran port workers union Sindicato Gremial de Trabajadores del Muelle (SGTM) who legally and peacefully participated in a protest at the Port of Portland in Oregon, United States on March 4, 2014.”
On Tuesday, March 4, three elected leaders of the Honduran Port Workers Union (SGTM by its Spanish acronym) established a picket line in front of the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) operation at Terminal 6 in Portland. They held picket signs that read, “SGTM LOCKED OUT ICTSI” and explained that they are facing physical assault, military repression, death threats, and anti-union attacks since ICTSI won a concession to operate their cargo terminal in Puerto Cortes, Honduras, in February of 2013. Portland’s ILWU-represented dockworkers refused to cross the picket line in solidarity, and an arbitrator ruled that the work stoppage was not illegal under the collective bargaining agreement. When the port workers returned home to Honduras two days later, they learned that the Honduran National Police were seeking their detention and arrest for exercising their free speech rights at the ICTSI gate in Portland.
In its March 6 letter to the US Embassy, the Solidarity Center stated, “As a result of SGTM’s advocacy to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with ICTSI and improve working conditions for port workers in Puerto Cortes, the president of SGTM, Victor Crespo, received numerous threats, was assaulted, and fled the country to protect his life.” The letter explains that ICTSI recently fired SGTM-affiliated members and replaced them with new and less experienced workers, which resulted in a protest that was followed by police and military repression.
The Solidarity Center also accused ICTSI of using its influence with Honduran authorities to conduct reprisals against port workers: “It is also disturbing that the Honduran government and police appear to be acting on behalf of and under the direction of ICTSI, and that the company provided the Honduran government and police with the information of the protest in Portland and the picture of the SGTM members from the Oregonian.” The Solidarity Center further stated, “That ICTSI is utilizing its influence with the Honduran police to conduct reprisals on SGTM members raises even further concern about issues of corruption within the Honduran police and a continued failure by the Honduran police to respect and uphold human rights.”
ILWU International President Robert McEllrath said, “There is an urgent need to protect the Honduran port workers from persecution by the Honduran authorities on behalf of ICTSI. This is what we have come to expect from ICTSI – the company is a serial labor rights abuser doing what it wants when it wants regardless of the workers and communities it plunders. I give credit to the AFL-CIO for stepping up here and taking an immediate stand to protect these three good men: Victor Crespo, Carlos Alvarado and Glen Galdames. The situation is dire and requires immediate intervention.”
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s Coast Longshore Division represents the interests of approximately 25,000 men and women working on the docks in 30 ports on the West Coast of the United States. The ILWU was formed in 1934, and the Coast Longshore Division negotiates a coast-wide collective bargaining agreement with the approximately 75 waterfront employers that comprise the Pacific Maritime Association.