On September 28, 1997, a picket line was set up in the port of Oakland against the scab cargo-laden ship, Neptune Jade, in solidarity with 500 sacked Liverpool dockers. Global shipowners, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), sued the labor activists who picketed and the longshore union locals whose member honored that picket line. The Liverpool Dockers Defense Committee was organized to build a united front defense campaign to demand PMA drop their case against the Neptune Jade defendants.
You will find information here about the LDDC fight to protect waterfront workers around the world and information on the Pacific Maritime Association's SLAPP suit against union and community groups who are fighting the global assault on worker's rights.
Workers Victorious:
- PMA Finally Drops Neptune Jade Lawsuit - By Steve Stallone - ILWU Dispatcher, November 1998
- Never Cross a Picket Line - A Message From the Swedish Dockworkers Union, October 1998.
The Neptune Jade Pickets (September 1997)
- Dockworkers Refuse Scab British Cargo - By David Bacon, San Francisco Bay Guardian, October 8, 1997.
- The Saga of the Neptune Jade - by Ellen Starbird, November 1997.
- The Ballad of the Neptune Jade - Anonymous, July 1998.
The PMA Lawsuit (October 1997 - November 1998)
- 500 Rally For Neptune Jade Defendants - By Steve Zeltzer, February 1998.
- Students, Activists Sued for Blocking Port With Protest - by Rinat Fried, The Recorder, February 27, 1998
- Judge Dismisses Some Neptune Jade Cases - Text of a leaflet issued March 22, 1998.
- Labor Protests Neptune Jade Lawsuit - March 4, 1998, San Francisco Bay Guardian
- Fate of the Neptune Jade - by Alexander Cockburn, The Nation, March 23, 1998.
- Billy Bragg Interview by Kazmi - Labor on the Job, Bay Area Guinness Fleadh - June 1998
- Steve Zeltser interviews Chumbawamba vocalist Alice Nutter - Labor on the Job, Bay Area Guinness Fleadh - June 1998.
- ILWU Closes Port for Courthouse Rally for Neptune Jade Defendants - by Ellen Starbird, Spetember 1998.
- ILWU Wins Another Round in Neptune Jade Case - by Steve Stallone, ILWU Dispatcher, September 1998.
- Shipping Firms Sue To Halt Dock Strikes - Associated Press newswire, reprinted in the San Francisco Chronicle - September 13, 1998.
- World Labor Solidarity: The Bosses Worst Nightmare - The Industrial Worker October 1998.
- Defending Workers' Rights - by Jack Heyman, Journal of Commerce, October 1998
- The ILWU Defends Its Proud Tradition, a guest editorial by Jack Heyman - San Francisco Chronicle, October 5, 1998
- Resolution by the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, August 1998.
Wobblies and other workers picket the entrance to Berth 23 on Maritime Street in the port of Oakland, California in September, 1997. The Neptune Jade (above, right), left Berth 23 after three days, its cargo still fully loaded.
