Quick Look at the ILWU

A Quick look @ the ILWU
A different kind of union

"A union is built on its members. The members who work, who make up the union and pay dues, can best determine their own destiny. If the facts are honestly represented to the members in the ranks, they will best judge what should be done and how it should be done.,,
from the "Ten Guiding Principles of the ILWU"

Where we came from

Democracy works
The longshore workers who founded the ILWU learned union the hard way. The men who did the backbreaking work of loading and unloading ships' cargo started organizing at the turn of the century In 1916, 1919 and 1921 they struck Pacific Coast ports. The bosses played on divisions between one port and another, one job and another, one race and another.

The union lost bad. The workers faced another dozen years of wage cuts and speed-ups, goon squads and shape-ups, the jobs going to the guys that bribed the hiring agents.

By 1934 they reorganized, bringing together all waterfront workers all along the coast. As a unified rank-and-file they voted to strike, standing up to the employers and conservative officials of the old International Longshoremen's Assn.

The strike brought dramatic improvements in their work lives. And they learned first-hand the power of direct action and democratic participation -- the force a group can apply when each member makes a personal decision to act for the good of all.

In 1937 they started the ILWU, and wrote this experience and understanding into the constitution that continues to govern the union's day-to-day life.

"Labor unity at all times the key for successful economic advancement.
from the "Ten Principles"

Unity among waterfront workers won the '34 strike. The new union embraced organizing efforts among the warehouse workers who worked on and near the docks, strengthening both.

Over the years the ILWU never hesitated to use its power to bolster organizing efforts, whether by lending material support for workers on strike or honoring their picket lines or refusing to handle struck cargo.

"ILWU policies have always been built on the belief that international solidarity and world peace are the cornerstones of social and economic justice for all workers.

From "The ILWU Story"

Following policies sot by the ILWU Convention, members and locals have put union power to work In support of workers all over the world. In the l93Os the union blocked shipments of supplies to the future opponents of the U.S. in World War II.

In the '7Os the ILWU joined a boycott of Chilean cargo following the overthrow of the democratically elected government there. In the 80s, locals refused to handle cargo from apartheid South Africa.

Today the union is playing a leading role in organizing workers to oppose the world wide threat to democracy and economic justice posed by the World Trade Organization.

Who we are
All workers welcome

Some 60,000 people belong to the ILWU. They live and work in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii and Canada. About 14,000 of them do longshore work, moving cargo on and off ships. The rest work at a huge range of jobs:

* in warehouses & food processing centers, on tugboats & ferries;

* in agriculture, light manufacturing & environmental industries;

* as hotel & hospital workers, miners & maritime office workers;

* as bicycle & car couriers, bookstore & cannery workers,

* Security & airport personnel,

Now we work
Members rule

Final authority in the ILWU rests with the members. The International Convention-with delegates elected by direct vote of the members in each local-acts as the highest decision making body of the union.

It meets every three years. In fact, the members call the shots at every level of the union. Contracts must be approved by secret votes of all the members affected. Members elect their co-workers to represent them as negotiators and stewards.
Officers:

In between conventions, authority goes to the International Executive Board. The IEB includes representatives from each geographic area of the union (Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska and Hawaii), the president of the Marine Division of the ILWU, called the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific, and the four officers of the International-the president, two vice-presidents and the secretary-treasurer Members in each area or division vote for their IEB representatives.

All ILWU members vote for International officers. Everyone votes by direct, secret ballot. According to the ILWU Constitution, the officers must come from the ranks. No one can hold office unless he or she has been a dues-paying member of the union for at least five years.

Officers' salaries: All the officers earn less than $80,000 a year. The Convention sets their salaries. The Constitution says their annual raises shall equal the average of increases negotiated in three major ILWU contracts. When union finances have been tight, the titled officers have often taken voluntary salary freezes.

Local autonomy:

Each local has its own constitution, elects its own officers and sets its own dues rates. Locals have considerable autonomy, though they must respect the International Constitution, Convention decisions and referenda passed by the membership 'as a whole.

Roles of the locals and the international:

The International gives the locals a way to pool their efforts-and their accumulated experience. For example, it coordinates and funds organizing, political action, communications, research, health and safety and education programs.

Locals take part in all those activities, and are also involved with members' everyday work lives, helping with grievances and contract negotiations.

Dues, fines and assessments
Locals set dues rates by whatever democratic mechanism they choose.

Newly organized workers pay no initiation fees. Fines and assessments; Fines or assessments, where they exist, are established by the democratic process.

Any assessments for special union-wide projects must be approved by the IEB and then passed by a secret-ballot vote of the whole membership, or by a vote of the delegates elected by the rank and file to the International Convention. For example, in 1994 the membership voted to assess itself $2 per month for two years to boost the union's organizing program.

Special projects: In some cases, members of local unions in a particular industry or geographic area may vote to fund special programs. This illustrates how ILWU members set ILWU policy.

For example, the Longshore Division established a "Fighting Fund" to defend union jobs on the docks, and only longshoremen pay into this fund. Local 142 in Hawaii asked members for a one-time contribution of $2.50 each to help survivors of Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

Strikes and democracy

During organizing drives, the company tries to scare workers away from the ILWU by implying that the union will constantly be forcing you out on strike. This lie does you a disservice. Strikes rarely happen.

In the last 50 years, the longshore division struck just once, in 1971. And strikes never happen unless the members vote to walk. That's not a decision anyone takes lightly. Members know that strikes, like any other union activity depend on their commitment and democratic participation.

And though strikes aren't easy, they give us a powerful weapon. They've played an important role in labor's history. Workers struck many times for the eight-hour day in the 19th century for example. The ILWU itself grew out of the longshore strike in 1934.

Bottom line, employers don't want to see you strike or join a union because then YOU have power They can't just run over you anymore. You have a say in your work life.