September 26, 2014
The Israeli ship Zim Shanghai will reportedly arrive at the Port of Oakland tonight, Friday (Sep 26).
Gerry Condon and Helen Jaccard will be joining many others at SSA Terminal 59 beginning at 5 pm and through the evening, maintaining a picket to discourage Longshoreman from unloading the ship..
Picket actions will continue until the Zim Shangai leaves the San Francisco Bay. Picketers will gather at West Oakland BART at 5 pm today, mornings at 5 am and afternoons at 4:30 pm. Carpools will be available to take people to the Port.
Please join us if you can, and help to spread the word. (Flyer)
ZIM is running scared and trying to sneak in ahead of schedule.
Oakland is ready!
The ZIM Shanghai is now scheduled to arrive TONIGHT, FRIDAY!
Join this Historical Victory!
Gather at West Oakland BART at 5PM
Can't come at 5pm....come as early as you can.
March and carpool to SSA Terminal Berth 59
We'll chase the Apartheid Ship out of Oakland.
(The first night's picket could go late...be prepared, check text/FB alerts)
Bring friends, instruments, signs, banners, food/water to share.....
Let's celebrate PEOPLE POWER!.....United We Stand for GAZA!
Text: �Join� to 88202 for alerts on ship location and picket status
Twitter: @StopZIMOak
Facebook: facebook.com/events/545270232240123/
Inquiries: stopzimoak@gmail.com / (415) 867-0628
(Beware of the Trickster Zim.....check text/FB alerts regularly!)
To track the Zim Shanghai: http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/477634600
Port of Oakland map: http://www.portofoakland.com/pdf/maritime/mari_map.pdf
A �sustained picket� means we will picket the Zim Shanghai from when it arrives until it leaves the Bay.
(starting at 5:00pm, September 26th)
Morning assembly: 5am, West Oakland BART
Afternoon assembly: 4:30pm, West Oakland BART
Morning assembly: 5am, West Oakland BART
Afternoon assembly: 4:30pm, West Oakland BART
Regular Carpools from West Oakland BART to Berth 59 will be available, as long as we are able.
End the Siege of Gaza!
Picket the Zim Shanghai Starting September 26 at the Port of Oakland!
Israel and Hamas agreed to a set of conditions for a ceasefire on August 26th, after Israel had killed more than 2,100 Palestinians in Gaza - mostly civilians, more than a quarter children - and destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure, housing, hospitals, schools and water supply.
Israel claims it does not �occupy� Gaza, yet it has complete control of Gaza's land crossings, seacoast and air space. Israel severely restricts Palestinians' movement and their access to food, medical supplies, and construction materials.
In 1984, protesting against South African Apartheid, the Bay Area longshore workers union, ILWU Local 10, went on strike for 11 days against the Nedlloyd Kimberley, a ship carrying South African cargo.
In 2010, responding to the deadly Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Local 10 honored a picket of an Israeli-owned ZIM ship by 1,200 community and labor activists, refusing to unload the ship for 24 hours. In August 2014, Palestinian, community and labor activists, in an historic victory, blocked the Zim Piraeus for five days and forced it to leave the Bay with most of its cargo still on board.
We ask the ILWU to carry on its long historical tradition of opposing injustice and honoring community picket lines. Let�s keep the pressure on and continue this tradition of labor blockades against oppression.
Please come to a sustained community and labor activist picket beginning on September 26th to stop the Zim Shanghai from unloading or loading any cargo - from when it arrives in Oakland until it leaves. This will also send a message to stevedoring companies such as Stevedore Services of America (SSA) who are pushing for concessions right now against longshore workers who are working without a contract.
Picket Lines Mean Don't Cross!
An Injury to One is an Injury to All!
Solidarity with the Palestinian people!
Stop ZIM Action Committee
================
A �sustained picket� means we will picket the Zim Shanghai from when it arrives until it leaves the Bay.
Morning assembly: 5am, West Oakland BART (starting September 26th)
Afternoon assembly: 4:30pm, West Oakland BART
Carpools will be available. The ship is expected at the SSA terminal in the Port.
Typically, each picket will last only a few hours until longshoremen decide not to cross the picket. It may last longer depending on the situation. Volunteers are need for all shifts, but especially morning shifts and the first day (morning of September 27th).
Please check your phone/Twitter/FB for updates on the ship location and picket status, particularly two days before. ZIM may arrive a day early or delay the ship's arrival to avoid picketers.
======================
Unions around the world, including the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (Gaza) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) have called for action against Israeli Apartheid.
We are asking that longshore workers honor this picket line as they have done before for the Zim Piraeus, and other ships such as the Nedlloyd Kimberley which carried cargo for the oppressive and discriminatory Apartheid regime of South Africa in the 1980s.
We understand the ILWU is currently in contract negotiations with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and that there is no contract in effect at this time. Further, SSA is one of the most aggressive stevedoring employers in the PMA going after the ILWU on work rules and concessions. ILWU longshore workers in the Pacific Northwest have been fired for work stoppages over health and safety violations despite the fact that there is no contract in effect. Working now under no contract as negotiations continue, there is more opportunity and reason to take action on behalf of workers and the community.
There is no arbitration procedure without a contract and longshore workers cannot be compelled to cross a labor and community picket line to comply with a contract. Honoring a picket line of the Israeli shipping line ZIM actively supports the Palestinian people, and shows that union members care about what happens to others who suffer discrimination and oppression. Supporting the community in this struggle further strengthens community support for the ILWU in fighting to keep the hiring hall, work rules, and other benefits union members have.
ILWU members should be aware that Israeli unions actively discriminate against Palestinians - who make up a significant portion of the labor force within Israel. As many of you are well aware, longshore workers in San Francisco and the entire West Coast established the hiring hall after the strike in 1934 to end discrimination in hiring based on union membership and race.
======================
Endorsed by:
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition USA
BDS National Committee (Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee)
BDS Marin
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists - Social Justice Committee
Block the Boat, Tampa
Block the Boat, Vancouver
Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights (BCPR)
Coalition of Lebanese Civil Societies
CodePink, Golden Gate Chapter
CodePink, SF Chapter
East Bay Veterans for Peace
14 Friends of Palestine - Marin
Free Gaza Movement
Free Palestine Movement
Global Campaign for the Return to Palestine
Global March to Jerusalem
International Bolshevik Tendency
ISM - NorCal
Justice for Palestinians (San Jose)
Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace (LMNOP)
MECA (Middle Eastern Children's Alliance)
NorCal Friends of Sabeel
North Coast Coalition for Palestine
Muslim American Society
Palestinian Association (Hamilton, Ontario)
Palestine Solidarity Committee/ISM, Seattle
Palestinian Solidarity Committee Stuttgart, Germany
Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore
Socialist Organizer
St. Francis of Assisi Pax Christi, Derwood, MD
Transport Workers Solidarity Committee
United Public Workers for Action
Voices for Palestine
Voices for Peace in the Middle East, Bellingham
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs