Dockworkers Respond to Israel's Flotilla Massacre and Gaza Siege http://mostlywater.org/dockworkers_respond_israels_flotilla_massacre_and_gaza_siege

 With a history stretching back to 1934, the ILWU has faced the employers in countless disputes on the docks, carried out industrial solidarity action with other workers, fought against racism, adopted resolutions which characterize the Israeli oppression of Palestinians as “state-sponsored terrorism”, and on May 1st 2008 shut down every port on the US West Coast against the war in Iraq. 

Labor laws in the U. S. like the Taft-Hartley Act make it illegal for unions to organize solidarity actions. The Oakland longshore workers arrived for the day shift and refused to cross the picket line on grounds of “health and safety”.

The Pacific Maritime Association, on behalf of the employer SSA, immediately called in the Arbitrator (a joint union-management procedure for first-line response to disputes on the docks) hoping he would order everyone to work. The Arbitrator considered the PMA demand that the police use force to open access through the picket line, to make it “safe” for workers to enter the terminal. The union argued that the Oakland police are a threat to the security of workers and demonstrators.