Reply #23: Longshoremen begin walkout at Seattle, Tacoma ports

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: KOMO

SEATTLE -- Longshoremen at the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma refused to work on Thursday as part of a union protest against U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fellow union members along the West Coast are taking part, brining cargo traffic to a halt.

An arbitrator on Wednesday ordered the union that represents dockworkers at West Coast ports to tell members they must report to work and not take the day off, but union leaders in Seattle said they have given their support to any of their 2,000 members who chose not to work. Pacific Maritime Association spokesman Steve Getzug said thousands of workers at ports along the West Coast failed to report to work on Thursday.

"There's no work happening so that means there's no cargo being unloaded and certainly being loaded either," Getzug said.

Seattle dockworkers gathered at their union hall holding signs that read "No Peace - No Work."



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