The Labor Video Project released its new video, “Workers Stand Against Israeli Apartheid” (48 min., 2010).
In a historic labor/community protest on June 20, 2010, more than five hundred people joined picket lines in t
he Port of Oakland SSA terminal to call on ILWU Local 10 and ILWU Local 34 members not to cross the picket lines and work the Israeli Zim ship Shenzhen. The call for a labor boycott was initiated by the Palestinian trade unions in response to the criminal attack by Israel on the aid flotilla going to Gaza and the ongoing blockade of Gaza.
The longshore workers refused to cross the picket line and the protesters as a result were successful in stopping the work on the SSA terminal for 24 hours halting the ship’s departure until the following day. This labor documentary shows the link and continuity of this action with the 1984 apartheid picket of a ship from South Africa. ILWU workers and others make comparison of these pickets and also why they consider Israel an apartheid regime. Footage of this action and the action today provide a striking connection over 26 years.
The port boycott picket was also endorsed by the Oakland Education Association OEA and the San Francisco and Alameda Central Labor Councils. Many bay area trade unionists who joined the picket line speak out on this issue and why they have taken a stand.
Additional Footage by Oriana Bolden, John Parulis, and Marty Conlisk
For further videos, please see: ILWU10 EB Member Heyman Supports Swedish Portworkers Union Boycott Of Israeli Ships/Cargo
