Excerpts from David Macaray’s article:
Although EGT management is attempting to make this thing appear as a thuggish, internecine battle — an old-fashioned power play between rival unions, the issue boils down to two things. For one, a deal is a deal, and EGT needs to honor the agreement the Port of Longview made with the ILWU.
For another, and not to point fingers, but the IUOE — in contrast to the formidable and truculent ILWU — is perceived as a union not known for putting up much of a fight, which, in truth, is why EGT, after attempting to fill the positions with non-union personnel, chose the Operating Engineers as the union they wanted to do business with.
The Longview dispute obviously has a ways to go before it gets sorted out, but no matter what the eventual outcome, these brave ILWU members have breathed life into the labor movement. One can only hope that their actions will inspire union members in other industries to assert themselves as well.
And as for those upright, uptight citizens who will condemn the Longview demonstration as “lawless” or “renegade,” they need to recalibrate. They need to see this thing for what it is. The Longview uprising is self-determination personified. It’s American, it’s patriotic, it’s grassroots and its antecedents can be traced back to the Boston Tea Party — the real Boston Tea Party. Indeed, Longview is what the so-called Tea Party movement wishes it were.