Ports

Strikes Shut Down Canada’s Container Ports From East To West Coast

November 6, 2024 Lori Ann LaRocco, CNBC. Resist! Canada, Ports, Trade, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Key ports on Canada’s West Coast, including its largest container port in Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert, were shut down by a labor strike on Monday. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Ship & Dock Foreman Local 514 began striking on Monday morning, stopping containers and cargo immediately. According to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, $800 million in trade flows through West Coast ports every day. Approximately 20% of U.S. trade arrives in the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, where strikes broke out after union leadership and industry representatives failed to reach a deal before a cooling-off period expired.

A Port Strike Has Already Hit Canada As US Prepares For Walkouts

September 30, 2024 William Gavin, Yahoo News. Resist! Canada, Dockworkers, Ports, Strikes, Supply Chain, Unions

As the U.S. economy prepares for a potentially devastating strike across its East Coast ports, Canada is already dealing with its own. About 320 longshoreman represented by a local affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, began a 72-hour strike on Monday morning, freezing work at two terminals at the Port of Montreal. Those terminals, which are operated by Termont, represent about 40% of the containers that move through the port. The Port of Montreal impacts 37,774 jobs and contributes $2.7 billion to Canada’s economy every year, according to a 2023 study. It also provides more than 2,000 jobs to the U.S. and $145 million in economic benefits.

No Harbour For Genocide: Activists Prepare For Arrival Of ‘Ship Of Death’

July 29, 2024 Adrienne Pine, Popular Resistance. Resist! Energy Blockade, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, Ports

The Overseas Santorini, which is slated to reach the Strait of Gibraltar on Tuesday, July 30, is one of two tanker vessels that have shipped millions of barrels of military grade jet fuel from Valero Energy, through a U.S. government contract to Israel, from 2014 to the present. It departed from Valero’s Corpus Christi refinery in Texas on July 15, following its standard route for transporting JP-8 fuel from there to Israel’s port of Ashkelon, generally docking in Algeciras, Spain on the way there, and Limassol, Cyprus, on the way back, and sometimes calling at other Atlantic and Mediterranean ports. Independent researchers have been tracking these shipments, which have been leaving approximately every two months.

US Navy Falters; Yemen’s Blockade Bankrupts Israel’s Eilat Port

July 19, 2024 Robert Inlakesh, MintPress News. Resist! Economic crisis, Israel, Naval Blockade, Palestine, Ports, Yemen

Despite the formation of a multinational naval coalition led by the United States, the Israeli-controlled Port of Eilat has reportedly gone bankrupt and is seeking a government bailout. The situation underscores the failure of U.S.-led efforts against Yemen’s Ansar Allah–known pejoratively as the Houthis–blockade in the Red Sea, enforced until Israel ends its war on Gaza. “It must be acknowledged that the port is in a state of bankruptcy,” said Gideon Golber, CEO of the Port of Eilat, who has been vocal about the port’s dire economic condition for months and is now appealing for financial support from the Israeli government.

Action At The Port Of Genoa Against Rearmament And Genocide

July 6, 2024 Workers.org. Resist! Direct Action, Israel, Italy, Palestine, Ports, weapons

[There were] a paralyzed port, traffic jams, enormous damage and delays for shipowners and terminal operators — a day of struggle that points the way for class opposition to rearmament and a war economy. On June 25, the port gates San Benigno, Albertazzi, Etiopia and Lungomare Canepa in Genoa — Italy’s most important port — were simultaneously blocked for almost 10 hours with endless queues of lorries. Meanwhile hundreds of other people headed towards Terminal Messina (de facto blocked by the anti-riot police trucks), completely paralyzing the already jammed traffic.

Don’t Like War? Then Don’t Work!

May 4, 2024 Peter Cole, In These Times. Strategize! Antiwar Movement, Dockworkers, May Day, Ports, Strikes, Worker Rights and Jobs

May Day — a legal holiday for workers in most countries — was born in Chicago. On May 1, 1886, workers shut down America’s greatest industry city, and other cities too, to demand the 8-hour workday. In 1894, the U.S. Congress intentionally created a Labor Day at another time of the year, but some Americans continue celebrating the original, real Labor Day. On May 1, 2008, 10,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), one of the strongest and most militant unions in the United States, walked in those Chicagoans’ footsteps. They did so by walking off the docks at all 29 West Coast ports, completely shutting down America’s Pacific trading network.

Indian Port Workers Refuse To Handle Military Cargo Bound For Israel

February 19, 2024 Tanupriya Singh, People's Dispatch. Resist! Ceasefire, Elbit, Gaza, Genocide, India, Israel, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Ports, Unions

The Water Transport Workers Federation of India, which represents 3,500 workers in 11 major ports across the country, has declared its refusal to load or unload any “weaponized cargoes” intended for use in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. This includes any cargo coming from Israel “or any other country which could handle military equipment and its allied cargo for war in Palestine”. “The recent attack of Israel on Gaza plunging thousands of Palestinians into immense suffering and loss. Women and children have been blown to pieces in the war. Parents were unable to recognize their children killed in bombings which were exploding everywhere,” the union said in a statement dated February 14.

Pro-Palestine Protesters Block Israeli Ship From Port Of Melbourne

January 23, 2024 Nadda Osman, Middle East Eye. Resist! Anti-War, Australia, Blockade, Israel, Melbourne, Palestine, Ports, Zim

Around 4,000 pro-Palestine protesters in Australia's Melbourne rallied on Saturday and Sunday for the 15th week in a row, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and blocking a major freight terminal. The protest came amid an ongoing blockade of an Israeli ship at the city dock. The blockade at the Port of Melbourne has been ongoing for over two days, starting on Friday, and has prevented an Israeli-owned ship from being unloaded. It resulted in four cargo ships being stranded along with 30,000 containers. Mohammed Helmy, one of the protest organisers, told Middle East Eye that the protest and blockade has been effective so far and is intended to pressure the government to take action on the atrocities unfolding in Gaza as a result of Israeli aggression.

Hundreds Protest Gaza War At Oakland Port

January 16, 2024 Staff, KTVU FOX 2. Resist! Anti-War, California, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Ports

A large crowd of protesters who denounced Israel's military actions in Gaza were trying to shut down the Port of Oakland on Saturday morning. Hundreds of people blocked the entrance to the port, which they say is used to ship military equipment to Israel. The crowd gathered before dawn, trying to prevent port workers from getting to their jobs. "We need to stop U.S. aid to Israel," said Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center. "We absolutely will not allow our own port to be complicit in this genocide by allowing the transport of arms and military equipment to Israel." Protesters expect a ship carrying military technology to arrive at the port after delivering resources to Israel.

Australian Trade Unionists For Palestine Are Blocking Israeli Ships

November 30, 2023 Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network. Resist! Anti-War, Australia, Israel, Melbourne, Palestine, Ports, Sydney, weapons

Over the past month and a half, with each passing day, more Israeli bombs have fallen on Gaza. More bodies have been blown apart and buried under the rubble. Close to 2 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes. The world has borne witness to a genocidal military campaign to clear out Gaza once and for all. And every day, every hour, it feels like the chance to stop one of humanity’s most inhumane crimes is slipping through our fingers. And, even with this week’s temporary “humanitarian pause” and exchange of prisoners and hostages, the powers that be have shown no interest whatsoever in listening to the thundering calls for a permanent ceasefire that are coming from governments and mass demonstrations around the world, particularly the Biden administration here in the United States, the increasingly fascistic Netanyahu government in Israel, and the arms manufacturers and war profiteers who are raking in billions from manufacturing mass death.

Dockworkers And Labor Activists Can Block The Transport Of Arms To Israel

November 28, 2023 Peter Cole, Jacobin. Strategize! Anti-War, Block the Boat, Israel, Palestine, Ports, Wars and Militarism, weapons

As a humanitarian disaster ravages Gaza, activists around the world have taken a wide range of actions aimed at pressuring Israel, from mass marches and “die-ins” to blockades and sit-ins. Unions have also ramped up solidarity actions in a range of sectors. While the scale of these actions is unprecedented, they follow on the heels of years of organizing and education campaigns by rank-and-file labor activists. Among the most celebrated labor actions have been those launched by dockworkers in a number of countries — including the United States, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Italy, South Africa, Belgium, and Tunisia — who have refused to load Israeli ships and cargo and transport arms to Israel.

Dock Workers Refuse To Deal With Weapons Ships Heading To Israel

November 10, 2023 Middle East Monitor, Orinoco Tribune. Resist! Anti-War, Barcelona, Belgium, Gaza, Human Rights, Israel, Palestine, Ports, Spain, Unions, United Nations (UN), weapons, Worker Rights and Jobs

Workers at the Spanish port of Barcelona announced their refusal to allow any ships carrying weapons to operate inside the port, rejecting the violence practiced by Israel in the occupied territories, and accusing the UN of failing to carry out its role. The workers said in a statement to their association that it is their duty to adhere to and defend the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, at a time when the signatory countries have forgotten about it. The statement continued: “We decided within the association not to allow ships containing war materials to operate in our port, for the sole purpose of protecting any civilian population, regardless of their location, as there is no justification for sacrificing civilians.”

The Next Target For Protests Against Israel: Ports

November 9, 2023 Kim Kelly, In These Times. Resist! California, Israel, Palestine, Ports, Spain, Washington

About 100 protesters arrived at the Port of Tacoma at 5 a.m. on Monday determined to block any efforts to load cargo onto the Cape Orlando, a ship the activists thought could be transporting weapons to Israel. They chanted “Free, free Palestine!” and by 6 a.m. the group had grown by hundreds more. “We are here today because we are blocking a military vessel that has come from the Oakland dock up to Tacoma,” said Bissan Barghouti of the group Samidoun Seattle, according to The Seattle Times. Guy Oron, a reporter with Real Change News, tweeted that “Protesters split up into four pickets in an effort to prevent longshoremen from starting their shift.” “Heavy police presence; U.S. Coast Guard has reportedly planned for the protest.

Protesters Block US Military Ship Allegedly Carrying Weapons For Israel

November 7, 2023 Hilary Beaumont, Al Jazeera. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Israel, Palestine, Ports, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism, Washington

Under dark skies and steady rain, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied at the Port of Tacoma, in Washington state, to block a military supply vessel they believe will carry weapons from the United States to Israel. There, they fear any weaponry on board will be used in Israel’s ongoing campaign against the Gaza Strip, where more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed. “We want a ceasefire now. We want people to stop getting murdered now. We want a real examination and action on US foreign policy and US funding to Israel,” said Wassim Hage, one of the protesters at the Tacoma rally.

Biden Announces Deal Connecting Europe And West And South Asia

September 10, 2023 News Desk, The Cradle. Educate! Asia, China, Europe, G20, Joe Biden, Ports, Railroads, US Imperialism

US President Joe Biden announced a multinational rail and ports deal linking Europe, West Asia, and South Asia on 9 September at a gathering on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi. The deal, known as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), comes as the White House seeks to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Russia and Iran’s North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) by pitching Washington as an alternative partner and investor for developing countries. A memorandum of understanding for the deal was signed by the European Union, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the US, and other G20 partners.

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