A hung jury forced a mistrial late Friday night in the misdemeanor trial of ILWU President Robert McEllrath, accused of obstructing/delaying a train Sept. 7 at the Port of Longview.
McEllrath, the top executive in the ILWU, was accused of standing on the railroad tracks — along with several hundred other dockworkers and supporters — to prevent a train from delivering grain to the EGT grain terminal. The train backed up after about an hour.
Although the charge is a misdemeanor, dockworkers came from all over the world to show solidarity at McEllrath’s trial, which began Thursday. Longshore workers hung a banner outside the Hall of Justice reading: “Fighting for good jobs should not be a crime,” and several of them wore shirts with the same slogan.
