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Denver supporters of Philadelphia Longshoremen and City Council members send message on Nov. 22:

"Del Monte is undermining the fundamental pillars of the work force in America!"

-November 23, 2010

On Monday evening, in a show of support and solidarity for 200 longshoremen from the Port of Philadelphia, community, clergy and labor advocates in Colorado met as a delegation in front of the Denver City and County Building to pressure City Council to take a stand against global giant Del Monte’s decision to cut over 200 good paying, quality jobs.

“When you have corporate aggression of this type that strips out a families abilities to provide for their children, not only do we have the immediate destabilization of families, but this has long term ripple effects in our communities,” stated Denver School Board Director Andrea Merida. “When we do not set up our children to be successful then we are weakening our democracy.”

Workers, Supporters Protest Del Monte’s Greed

by James Parks, Nov 23, 2010

When Del Monte Fresh Produce moved its port operations from Camden, N.J., to Glouchester, N.J., it said good bye to a 22-year relationship with Longshoremen (ILA) Local 1291 and left 200 workers without a job. In Glouchester, they hired members of an independent union and now pay cheaper wages and provide few, if any, benefits.   

Workers and supporters block traffic in Center City Philadelphia in protest of Del Monte's efforts to undermine fair workplace standards


Monday, November, 22, 2010

Nearly four hundred people, including dockworkers, their families, and Philadelphia Jobs with Justice activists joined together in Love Park today as a part of a National Day of Action to protest Del Monte Fresh Produce's elimination of family-sustaining union jobs at the Port of Philadelphia.

November 22 Day of Action in Philadelphia, Florida and Texas to protest union busting by Fresh Del Monte Produce N.A. Inc.

PHILADELPHIA--Protesting the loss of 200 union longshore jobs in the Port of Philadelphia, Friends and Families of International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) Local 1291 will rally November 22 against Fresh Del Monte Produce N.A. Inc. in downtown Philadelphia and at Fresh Del Monte facilities in Manatee-Palmetto and Coral Gables, Florida., as well as Galveston, Texas.

ILA Calls for Del Monte Fresh Produce Boycott This Thanksgiving

The ILA has called for a boycott against Del Monte Fresh Produce. Please help spread the word!

International Dockworkers Write Letter in Support of Our Struggle

We'd like to thank the International Dockworkers Council who have written a letter in support of our struggle against Del Monte. They wrote, "our Affiliates found it imperative that we offer you our unconditional support and do whatever we can to ensure that these unscrupulous employers do not succeed."

ILWU Backs Local 1291 Up

In yet another show of support for our cause against Del Monte Fresh Produce, the ILWU has endorsed our call for action and is spreading the word to their local unions on the West Coast and Hawaii.

ILA South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District Stand with Local 1291

Our brothers and sisters from the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District have heard and understood our call for support. They are standing with us with a resolution and have asked their locals to "communicate such positions with their members, area unions and central and state labor bodies." Thank you!

Read their full resolution.

Danger! “Shock Doctrine” Union-Busting on the Rise

By Treston Davis-Faulkner
October 20th, 2010
 

Today, with unemployment continuing to hover around 10% nationally and some cities experiencing joblessness at rates higher than 25% (even as the government and the mass media suggest the economic recovery is well underway), corporate interests are using the heightened insecurity of working people to push through their own “economic shock therapy”: lowering labor costs in order to maximize profit. Central to this agenda is undermining, at every opportunity, workers’ right to organize unions and collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions.

A few weeks ago, members of the International Longshore Association shut down the largest port on the East Coast in protest of the fruit company Del Monte’s announcement that it will move its banana-and-pineapple shipping operation to a non-ILA pier across the river from Philadelphia. This shift could cost ILA Local 1291 in Philadelphia 200-300 jobs. The pier these jobs would move to is said to be advertising positions paying as little as $8.50 an hour with few benefits. The ILA port in Philadelphia’s wages range from $17 to $25.50 an hour.

Longshoremen protest extension request

Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Thu, Oct. 14, 2010

By Linda Loyd
Inquirer Staff Writer


Placard-waving longshoremen urged the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority on
Wednesday to hold to a strict Oct. 24 deadline for getting a cargo crane and the Del
Monte Fresh Produce Co. ship deliveries moved back from Gloucester City to docks in
South Philadelphia.

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