Union Labor With American Characteristics

NEW: On Friday, dockworkers at 111 ports in 22 countries and regions on five continents will stop work in a coordinated strike against war, according to the most recent information from the organizing unions. More than 25 dockworkers’ unions have now signed on, from Marseille to Mumbai, Hamburg to Montevideo, Melbourne to Oakland. Days ago the count stood at about 100 ports in 17 countries, and that figure doesn’t include the dozens of unions in other sectors that have pledged support. Their demand is simple: no weapons and no military cargo through their ports. Nearly everything the world ships passes through the docks, and without the workers who load and unload it, nothing moves. In France, the main dockers’ union says the country’s ports will be 95% shut. Italy, India, Greece and Turkey face 24-hour strikes, and Morocco and Cyprus will see stoppages of up to two hours, with rallies planned in port cities around the world. In Greece, metalworkers, ship-repair workers and young people are joining the dockers, and in the US, ILWU Local 10 is striking in Oakland and San Francisco. The unions are working from the Istanbul Declaration, signed in May, with each one deciding for itself how to take part. They are also fighting for their own jobs, against cuts from automation and for contracts, raises, shorter hours and safety. The unions point to escalating wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the danger of a generalized war. They condemn Israel’s new crimes in Hebron, carried out with the backing of the US, NATO and the EU. Israel’s lockdown of the city is now in its sixth day, with more than 3,000 Palestinians displaced, according to the UN. Palestinian unions have endorsed Friday’s action. In Italy, the fight has spilled beyond the docks. The union USB has called for a nationwide general strike. Last night, the Italian government ordered transport workers back on the job last night. USB said it would defy the order and accept the steep penalties. The unions are calling on workers and young people everywhere to stand with the dockworkers, saying “Ports for peace and the peoples, not launching pads for war.” I’m reporting from Calabria, Italy, and I will be in Genoa tomorrow ahead of the strike to report on the ground during the mobilzation.