Who do you root for, union thugs or dirty hippy occupiers?
Via Commentary:
In its continued quest for media attention, the fading Occupy Wall Street movement has moved on to shutting down ports along the West Coast. The movement claims it’s doing this in solidarity with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which is currently feuding with a major grain exporter. But the union president isn’t exactly grateful for the “help” — in fact, he released a statement criticizing the OWS movement for “co-opting” the union’s fight:
As the Occupy movement, which began in September 2011, sweeps this country, there is a real danger that forces outside of the ILWU will attempt to adopt our struggle as their own. Support is one thing, organization from outside groups attempting to co-opt our struggle in order to advance a broader agenda is quite another and one that is destructive to our democratic process and jeopardizes our over two-year struggle in Longview. . . .
Most recently, groups directly connected to the Occupy movement and other loosely affiliated social media groups have called for the shutdown of certain terminals and the West Coast ports. At the same time, these groups seek to link these shutdowns to the ILWU’s labor dispute with employer [grain exporter] EGT. None of this is sanctioned by the membership of the ILWU or informed by the local and International leadership. Simply put, there has been no communication with the leadership and no vote within the ILWU ranks on EGT associated Occupy actions.