Background (H/T: Instapundit) next Monday there is supposed to be an organized shutdown of the West Coast’s port facilities by the Occupy movement – if you’re wondering why the heck they’re going after port facilities, it’s because the Occupy movement has a lot of anti-globalization sorts in it these days, and those people hate free trade with a passion that normal people reserve for rapists – and supposedly said shutdown would be supported by the private sector unions that would be immediately affected by it. Most important one? The International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU). The Occupiers are expecting the ILWU’s support in their shutdown.

Witness the solidarity!

“Any actions organized by outside groups, including the proposed Dec. 12 shutdown of various terminals on the West Coast, have not been vetted by our union’s democratically led process,” the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said. “Any decisions made by groups outside of the union’s democratic process do not hold water, regardless of the intent.”

…well, tacit solidarity. Official support would have gotten the ILWU in trouble. But the Occupiers knew this, right? They still expect that they are going to be supported by folks on the ground…

…Richard Mead, president of ILWU Local 10, which represents dockworkers at the Port of Oakland, said, “Our position is in the international’s press release. We’re not facilitating (Occupy Oakland’s strike call) in any way. We just want that clear.”

…OK, so there are unique conditions on the scene. But the ILWU is with Occupy. Occupiers are their brothers and sisters!

Jeff Smith, president of ILWU Local 8 in Portland, Ore., went further, telling the Portland Tribune his union won’t honor picket lines. “This is a third-party strike. We have to go to work,” he said.

Yeah, that last passage is the important one. If one local isn’t going to honor the picket lines then either: all of them aren’t going to honor the picket lines; or, there’s going to be one heck of an internal fight inside the ILWU over this next week. I’m voting for the former; you see, the ILWU leadership is not actually happy with the Occupiers right now: in fact, the words “disrespectful, arrogant and misguided” were used.

Yes, I know. It took them long enough, huh?

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: There’s no need to feel any sympathy towards the ILWU, of course. If the Occupiers were more popular, the union would still be cheerfully using them as a negotiating tool in their existing labor dispute.