Longshoremen Union-Backed Attempt to Recall Washington Sherriff Fizzles

An ILWU-backed effort to recall the Cowlitz County, WA Sheriff failed this week after a Washington judge ruled that none of the charges raised by the Longshormen's local met any of the legal requirements for a recall election.

[Judge] Warning said his ruling was based on the fact that union offered no witnesses to demonstrate there was a good-faith belief that the claims were based on actual incidents. Warning also said elected officials have broad discretion to carry out their duties and can't be recalled based on actions of their subordinates, such as deputies making arrests.

[Sherriff] Nelson said after the ruling that he was relieved to be able "to get back to work." He added the recall was a "distraction" that's "taken up far, far too much time, and I want to get back to doing the things the sheriff ought to be doing."

During the hearing he said that he's urged both sides to follow the law since the protests began but had to make arrests "once unlawful actions began."

"I respectfully submit I've done nothing wrong except work to keep the peace," Nelson told Warning.

There has been some speculation the recall and a federal civil rights lawsuit were attempts to intimidate law enforcement to back off at future protests.

"If that's true, those people don't know me very well," Nelson said after the hearing.

Union officials said they were disappointed with the ruling and needed time to "regroup" before deciding if they'll appeal to the state Supreme Court.

During the hearing, ILWU lawyer Laurie Davis repeatedly said Nelson had failed to protect union members from harm and that voters should get to decide if he remains in office. She acknowledged that many union supporters have been arrested, but said it was how they were arrested and treated that the union questioned.

"Just like we are accountable for the behavior we did, he's accountable for not supervising his subordinates and keeping them from injuring us," Davis said. "It's his job to protect every citizen in Cowlitz County, and that includes ILWU members."

Warning said he was surprised the union didn't have any witnesses, saying the roughly hour-long hearing concluded much more quickly than he had expected. Officials had reserved the courtroom for the entire day.

The recall effort was launched just weeks after members of ILWU Local 21 raided a grain unloading facility in Longview, WA with baseball bats and axe handles taped to picket signs before dumping grain and cutting the air lines on a parked freight train and wrecking a vehicle belonging to one of the port's security gurads.

Longshoremen Union Blockades Washington Port, Hold Security Guards Hostage, Dump Carloads of Grain and Clash With Police

At least 500 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union stormed the Port of Longview, WA, smashing windows on the property while holding security guards hostage and cutting air lines rail cars in the port and dumped grain while blocking trains from entering the port.

Approximately 50 policemen responded to the scene, although no arrests were made as the Longshoremen returned to ILWU Local 21 hall.

The Longshoreman's union assault on the port facilities is the latest in a long simmering dispute between the union and the owners of the grain transloading facility in the port, EGT Development. EGT is already using contract union labor in their facilities with 25 of the 35 jobs going to members of Local 701 of the International Union of Operating Engineers based in Gladstone, OR.

On September 1, a federal judge issued an temporary restraining order against ILWU Local 21.

A federal judge in Tacoma Thursday issued a temporary restraining order against the local longshore union that may clear the way for grain deliveries to the new $200 million EGT grain terminal at the Port of Longview.

The order, which will be in effect for 10 days, prohibits union members from engaging in "unlawful ... picket line violence, threats and property damage, mass picketing and blocking of ingress and egress at the facility of EGT," U.S. District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton wrote.

Leighton's order also restricts International Longshore and Warehouse Union members from "restraining or coercing the employees of EGT, (its subcontractor General Construction), or any other person doing business in relation to the EGT facility."

A second hearing in whether or not the restraining order was to be made permanent was supposed to be held on Thursday September 8, the same day the longshoremen stormed the port of Longview.

The day after the ILWU attacked the Longview port, a camera crew from KGW TV in Portland, OR went to the Local hall in the hopes of interviewing one of the longshoremen. What happens next is embedded in the video below and is emphatically Not Safe For Work.



Since July 11, at least 100 members of the ILWU Local 21 have been arrested around the port of Longview and attempting to block the BNSF tracks into the port. On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board filed suit against the ILWU, alleging multiple incidents of vandalism, harassment and intimidation against EGT employees. A hearing is scheduled for October 11 in Portland, OR.