Truckers who haul into and out of West Coast ports were idled Thursday as dockworkers stages a day-long work shutdown to protest the Iraq war.


Thousands of dockworkers did not show up to work Thursday morning, leaving ships and truck drivers idle at ports from Long Beach to Seattle, according to published reports. Protesters at the Port of Oakland tried to persuade truckers and rail workers to join the protest.

According to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, more than 25,000 longshore workers at 29 West Coast ports were "exercising their First Amendment rights today by taking a day off work and calling for an end to the war in Iraq."

"Longshore workers are standing-down on the job and standing up for America," said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath. "We're supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time to end the war in Iraq."

However, the LA Times noted that at the Port of Los Angeles on Thursday morning, "there were no anti-war activities--no protesters, no signs or banners with anti-war sentiments and no indication of any large-scale opposition of dockworkers to U.S. policy in Iraq."

"Is this a voluntary war protest or a strike aimed at leveraging labor negotiations--we're not sure," Steve Getzug, spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association, told the paper.

The May Day action comes two months before the contract expires between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Assn., which represents port operators and large shippers.

The West Coast ports are the nation's principal gateway for cargo container traffic from the Far East. Longshore workers handle everything from operating cranes at port marine terminals to coordinating truck cargo deliveries.