Jan. 6th Solidarity Meeting, Seattle Labor Temple (Part 3)

"The REAL" Clarence Thomas of ILWU Local 10, San Francisco/Oakland, and co-chair of the Million Worker March Movement, speaks about the low state of US trade unions today, and the need for a youthful, new, fiercely independent working class movement like Occupy to reinvigorate the organized labor movement. He speaks of the history of Black workers within the ILWU, who had been excluded from the union, fighting for human rights and equal employment opportunity. He explains that Harry Bridges fought to include Blacks because without community support the West Coast longshoremen in 1934 could not have won their strike and established the ILWU. He explains that Occupy is a means of gaining community support for the ILWU's life-or-death struggle against EGT.

As he continues, he explains the importance of many social justice struggles led by the ILWU, from the anti-apartheid struggle to fighting to end the Iraq War, from defending political prisoners like Mumia Abu-Jamal, to international labor solidarity, to justice for victims of police brutality such as Oscar Grant.

Video courtesy of Seattle Freedom Socialist Party.

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• Clarence Thomas
• longshoreman
• ILWU
• Local 10
• San Francisco
• Oakland
• Black workers
• trade unions
• Occupy
• Seattle
• Longview
• labor
• social justice
• Harry Bridges
• anti-apartheid
• Iraq War
• political prisoners
• Mumia Abu-Jamal
• police brutality
• Oscar Grant
• human rights
• equal employment opportunity