Sisters, Brothers, and Fellow Workers,

After the November presidential election, the Dispatcher wrote: “With Republican control of all three branches of government, the Trump Administration will have free rein to enact his agenda. We will soon see whether Donald Trump delivers for Workers or for Wall Street.”

The answer to that question started coming into focus on Inauguration Day when billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg were given front-row seats. Since then, President Trump has appointed the wealthiest cabinet in history.

Wall Street and Silicon Valley venture capitalists are more than well-represented in the Trump Administration, and Elon Musk (the richest individual on earth) has been given the keys to our entire government without any oversight. The voices of Main Street families and hometown workers are absent and silenced in this administration.

In the first 12 weeks of Trump’s presidency, we have seen an unprecedented assault on workers including an ongoing effort by the Trump Administration to strip 1 million federal workers of their fundamental rights.  This is the single largest union busting action in U.S history.

The Trump Administration’s actions these past several months, supported by Republican Party leadership, are serious threats to long-standing civil and political rights, highlighted by the aforementioned attack on the rights of federal workers. Democratic Party leadership and their rank and file members of Congress, with a few notable exceptions, have failed the American worker and can no longer be relied upon to be an effective opposition to the war on the working class.

Adapting to changing times

Our union must adjust how we approach politics in Washington, D.C. and our state capitols to confront this new reality. Our new political program is focused on protecting the jurisdiction of all Locals and Divisions within the ILWU, enshrining the rights of organized labor and putting policies that benefit ILWU members at the center of our strategy.

As reported in the Dispatcher, the International and Coast Officers have made some significant changes, we have expanded the Coast Longshore Division Legislative Committee, established a new Legislative committee that represents the Warehouse, Hospitality and Marine Divisions, we retained a new government relations and political consulting firm in Washington, D.C. that will work with the Officers and Legislative Committees to roll out our new political program. This will maximize our ability to defend the interests of the ILWU and its rank and file membership while assisting us in working with legislators on both sides of the aisle.

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