Sixty police officers barricaded the streets and stormed the SINTRAJAP longshore union hall in Limon, Costa Rica, on May 26, 2010. Click on this image to see more photos of the police occupation.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 28, 2010
CONTACT: Jennifer Sargent, 503-703-2933
US longshore union has asked the Obama Administration to investigate illegal ousting of elected union leaders; will announce more actions within days
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 28, 2010) – Declaring that longshore workers are united beyond international borders, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union today denounced Wednesday’s police takeover of SINTRAJAP, the union representing longshore workers in the Caribbean ports of Limón and Moín, Costa Rica, and promised to increase its months-long campaign to help restore union democracy in the Central American country. Limón and Moín are major importers of petroleum and other products, and major exporters of bananas, coffee, cocoa, and coconuts.
“Longshore workers are united globally, and when police start breaking glass and occupying the union hall in Costa Rica, it’s a call for international solidarity,” said ILWU International President Robert McEllrath. The Costa Rican newspaper El País reported that “A group of 60 armed police closed streets around the building of JAPDEVA’s union [SINTRAJAP] in Limón, while several knocked down doors and stormed the building, at 4:30 am, in the Costa Rican Caribbean port.” (Photos of dozens of police and the broken doors, as well as translated media articles, are available.)
In January, the democratically elected leaders of SINTRAJAP were replaced in what the ILWU calls a “sham election forced by the government in apparent violation of international labor law.” Since that time, the ILWU Coast Longshore Division has supported their Costa Rican counterparts with an increasing level of pressure on the Costa Rican government, including:
- Writing a letter to President Barack Obama from International President Robert McEllrath outlining the issue and requesting assistance;
- Educating members of Congress on the issue, prompting a letter signed by 25 U.S. Senators and Representatives asking Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to investigate;
- Hosting a delegation of Costa Rican dockers at the annual ILWU Coast Longshore Division’s Caucus where representatives of all 25,000 members voted unanimously to support SINTRAJAP’s fight to restore its elected leaders;
- Placing several full-page advertisements in major Costa Rican newspapers including La Nacion and El Semanario to educate citizens on the undemocratic moves of their government; and
- Additional, increased action to be announced within days.
Pres. McEllrath’s letter to Pres. Obama ends with this message: “Dockworkers worldwide are of a strong and unique fraternity that transcends nationalism. Cargo vessels and their owners are not dependent on any one country. Neither are dockworkers. An injury to one is an injury to all.”
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The International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s Coast Longshore Division represents 25,000 longshore workers in California, Oregon and Washington.