In an early morning incident at the port Wednesday, involving a large showing of Vancouver police, several vehicles entered the United Grain site, including a semi truck, a red car, and a white van. The van’s windows were obscured, and a sticker on the rear window contained an obscenity. Union supporters speculate that vans like this one are being used to transport replacement workers from a hotel near the Westfield Vancouver mall.
Meanwhile, some area church leaders have entered the fray in support of union dockworkers. They say they’ve collected about 50 signatures of church members for a petition they will present to the city of Vancouver and United Grain. The petition says, in part, that “we will not be silent as another corporation seeks to create a world that hurts people for the sake of profit.” They’ve also made early morning visits to the Holiday Inn Express hotel, where they believe replacement workers are staying.
The Rev. Jeremy Lucas of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit in Battle Ground said police have arrested ILWU members for “silly things” such as pedestrian interference. “It seems like the city of Vancouver and Vancouver police … have decided they are going to get involved in this dispute in a way that hurts people in their own community,” Lucas said.