Did You Know...

Looks like all that Labor Day incitement is paying off.

In Longview, WA last night and into the morning, unionized longshoremen have stormed the port there and taken a half-dozen guards hostage.

I’ll have to update my Top 10 union thug moments of the year.

Via AP:

Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha.

Six guards were held hostage for a couple of hours after 500 or more Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. and smashed windows in the guard shack, he said.

No one was hurt, and nobody has been arrested. Most of the protesters returned to their union hall after cutting brake lines and spilling grain from car at the EGT terminal, Duscha said.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that’s staffing a workforce of other union laborers.

Thursday’s violence was first reported by Kelso radio station KLOG.

Get a little bloody.

Open season.

Climate of hate, anyone?

Keep in mind: The union-promoted “Day of Rage” is coming up on September 17.

We’re getting a preview of things to come.

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More details. A federal judge had issued a restraining order against labor leaders last week after they harassed and threatened workers at the port. Who’s conducting the war on workers, I ask again?

These son of a bitches:

About 400 union longshoremen blocked a train for about four hours outside the new EGT grain terminal at the Port of Longview, but the train passed through Wednesday evening after the protesters were confronted by about 50 officers in riot gear.

Nineteen union protesters were arrested and cited for second-degree trespassing, a misdemeanor. Three were arrested when a scuffle broke out with police, and 16 more were arrested when they refused to leave the tracks when the train started up again, Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson said. Deputies say they are also investigating alleged vandalism to the train after it stopped. The names of the arrested were not immediately available Wednesday night.

“It was a very, very ugly situation,” Nelson said, adding that he fears the conflict could escalate.

Police said a throng of protesters pushed against them, forcing them to beat them away with clubs and pepper spray. Union officials say they worried police were going to arrest Robert McEllrath, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, for trespassing, so they moved to protect him. McEllrath was not arrested.

…Last week, a federal judge ordered a temporary restraining order against ILWU Local 21 in Longview and Local 4 in Vancouver barring illegal picketing against EGT. Union members have harassed and threatened EGT workers numerous times during the dispute, according to the NLRB.

Video:

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By the way: Some arrests have been made, but expect slaps on the wrist for the vandalism, violence, and destruction at the port.

Washington state has a history of coddling those who sabotage ports there.

Flashback:

Seditious outrage in Olympia: Protesters block trucks, pour concrete on train tracks to stop military shipments

Sedition in Olympia: Snivelers on parade

Sedition in Olympia: Anti-war mom drops baby human shield as anarchist kiddie shields watch

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Update And now…reports that wildcat strikes have spread to Seattle and Tacoma.

Here’s an official “We are One” ILWU/AFL-CIO sign raised at the Longview strike site.