More than 50 people showed up to support ILWU Local 21 longshoreman Ron Stavas yesterday.
Dozens of longshoremen gathered at the Cowlitz County Jail on Wednesday morning to show their support for fellow dockworker Ronald P. Stavas, who began a 22-day sentence after pleading guilty to charges related to last summer’s tumultuous labor dispute with the EGT grain terminal.
Stavas “is a decent person who’s paying a steep price for standing up for his job,” International Longshore and Warehouse Union spokeswoman Jennifer Sargent said in a statement Wednesday. “His union brothers and sisters showed up today to show they’re with him though thick and thin and will welcome him back as soon as they can.”
Cowlitz County Deputy Prosecutor Amie Hunter said her boss, Cowlitz County Prosecutor Sue Baur, still is considering whether to bring additional felony charges against ILWU members and their supporters.
On Wednesday, the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Central Labor Council issued a statement Wednesday denouncing the arrests and prosecutions of longshoremen, saying those associated with last year’s protests have been “systematically denied equal protection under the law by law enforcement and (the) county prosecutor.”