At the September 26-28 trial of ILWU International President Bob McEllrath, longshore members, leaders and pensioners from Southern and Northern California, the Oregon area, the Puget Sound, Hawaii and Canada attended to show their support and solidarity.
The head of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union was convicted of a misdemeanor Friday stemming from a protest staged last summer in the Port of Longview.
Robert McEllrath of San Francisco, international president, was found guilty of obstructing a train during last summer’s labor dispute in Washington state.The jury decision followed a three-day trial in Cowlitz County Court.
Dockworkers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex – as well as those in affiliated maritime unions throughout the nation – have been following the trial closely.
The judge sentenced him to serve one day in jail. He also must pay $543 in fines and court costs.
“I have no regrets for leading my men and women against corporate greed,” McEllrath, a San Francisco resident, told District Court Judge Robert Putka. “What’s happening in this country against the middle class is wrong, and I have no regrets.”