The ILWU is NOT on STRIKE. They are LOCKED OUT, ordered to leave with the gates padlocked behind them! ...local Seattle ILWU folks are on the news talking about military cargo too. For the life of me I am not sure why: the Co is who locked out, but the military cargo sounds like a pretext for Bush to send in the national guard, except of course several local politicians are on record telling the Feds to butt out!... DoreneC
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Here's what I know, via the local news. Talks in the Oakland Federal Building downtown broke down entirely yesterday when the PMA representatives showed up with security guards to the mediation. The union reps refused to proceed with cops in the room, the mediator agreed and told the PMA to get rid of the guards. PMA refused. The meeting was ended by the mediator!
One picketer (or lockoutee) had a great cartoon on his picket. It showed an ILWU guy with a worried look on his face and a large pistol held to his head in a big fist. Caption, `Let's talk.'
I think I agree with you, but I am speculating here. Now that you mention it, it occurs to me that the PMA strategy in using a lockout was to get Bush to intervein. While the union strategy of the slow down was to leverage PMA without a strike to avoid Taft-Hardley(?) and federal intervention. I just don't know. Joanna mentioned the possibility of something like Reagan's action against the air controllers: put the whole system under military control, move in scabs and just ice out the unions completely.
It may be that the only thing holding that kind of atrocious action up are state officials, since I think the feds need permission from the state. But again, I just don't know. If it is state officials holding up federal action, like the governor, then it becomes a potential political tactic. Local stores particularly supermarkets and retail outlets will feel the effects in a couple of weeks as stocks run low. That I suppose is expected to turn consumers against the union. Then the feds step in and claim the state democratic governors are stalling federal efforts. Or something like that to manipulate voters just in time for the elections.
Chuck Grimes