I worked up in Alaska as a seasonal laborer for 12 years. Unalaska, Alaska is about my experiences up there.
from Unalaska, Alaska
the novel by Wolf Larsen
There was a huge shadow over the small port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska that season in 2002: the growing stand-off between the employers and the union on the West Coast. The contract on the West Coast was set to expire soon. We were sitting in the gang shack on break and everyone was talking about it.
“The American President is firmly on the employer’s side. Like our union president said, the American President should just stay out of it,” I heard Lameass explaining to someone else. (Lameass was our union rep.)
“Those damn Repulicans,” said a guy named Al. “They’re always supporting the employers.”
“It’s all Grouchy’s fault!” joked Lameass. “If he hadn’t voted Republican we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Grouchy smiled.
“If we had a Democrat President he’d probably be supporting the employers too,” said somebody-or-another. (I’ll call him somebody-or-other because he was a new guy and I forgot his name.)
“No he wouldn’t,” said Lameass. “The Democrats are more for the worker!”
“Oh whatever,” said somebody-or-another. “During the elections the Democrats make a big show of coming down to the blue-collar jobs, and they put on a hard hat and say lots of nice words about working people. But after they get elected they seem to do pretty much the same as the Republicans.”
“Did you vote?” Lameass asked somebody-or-another.
“Hell no!” said somebody-or-another.
“There you go,” said Lameass. “If somebody-or-another had gone to the polls and voted a Democrat would have won the election, and then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“But the Democrat did win,” said Al laughing. He looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy.
“Oh that’s right!” said Lameass.
“But his brother wasn’t the governer of Florida,” said the Pillsbury Doughboy.
Nobody said anything for a few seconds.
“I hear they’re going to use that Patriot Act against the I.L.W.U.!” said the Pillsbury Doughboy.
“How are they going to do that?” asked Lameass.
“I thought the Patriot Act was just to throw Middle Eastern immigrants in jail,” said the Sheepfucker laughing.
“Yeah me too,” said the Pillsbury Doughboy laughing a little nerviously. “But we’re technically at war – against terrorism or drugs or something like that. So Bush is threatening to send in the army and occupy the docks, and the soldiers will move the cargo.”
“No way!” said the Sheepfucker.
“You better believe it! I saw it on the news this morning!” said the Pillsbury Doughboy.
“It’s true!” a guy known as Denmark said. “I saw it on the news too.”
“I don’t understand how he can do that!” said Sheepfucker. “The longshoremen are American citizens!”
“The President doesn’t give a rat’s ass if you’re from America or another planet,” said somebody-or-another. “He wants to move that cargo. If we – or our brothers down south – go on strike it will cost the U.S. economy two billion dollars a day!”
“I still think the American President should stay out of it!” said Lameass. “Just like the union president said.”
“But he’s a politician!” said somebody-or-another. “They always side with the employers. And don’t give me that you should have voted for Coke instead of Pepsi stuff!”
“What?” said Lameass.
“You know? The election – Coke or Pepsi,” said somebody-or-another.
“Oh that election,” said Denmark.
“I don’t see what you guys are worried about,” said the Sheepfucker. “Alaska has a separate contract than the West Coast. The contract is up on the West Coast. From listening to you guys talk you’d think it was our contract that is up.”
“Don’t get stupid on me now Sheepfucker,” said Lameass. “Whatever happens down south directly effects us. If the longshoremen on the West Coast lose big we’re going to lose big when our contract comes up next year.”
“Yeah Sheepfucker,” said Denmark, “maybe you should get yourself checked out! Maybe something you picked up on that sheep farm is starting to affect your brain or something!”
“SHUT UP ASSHOLE!” said Sheepfucker.
“Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah,” said Hippie.
By the time he was done talking half the guys in the gang shack were dozing off.
“Break’s over guys!” said the gang boss.
“The Teamsters declared solidarity with the I.L.W.U. in the event of a strike,” said Denmark. “That’s a good thing.”
“That’s a very good thing!” said Lameass.
“EVERYBODY BACK TO WORK!” yelled the gang boss.
A few people started to get up here and there. People were tired, because the job had started at one in the morning and now it was almost four in the afternoon.
“C’MON GUYS BREAK IS OVER! GO BACK TO WORK!!” yelled out the gang boss.
Everbody got up now. Others started heading out the door.
Later there was a short lull in the work, and some of us casuals were standing around talking.
“I just hope the union tops in the lower 48 don’t blow it,” said Georgia. “I used to have a job on the waterfront in Mississippi, and the union tops just threw it all away without a fight.”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” said Flaco. “If the union tops, as you call them, are half as lame down there as they are up here we’re in trouble!”
“Are you saying our union leaders are like a character in a certain Harriet Beecher Stowe novel?” asked Georgia with a smile.
Flaco had a lost expression on his face.
“Let me spell it out for you,” said Georgia. “Our union leaders up here are a bunch of white redneck Uncle Toms. The only reason the employers play ball with the I.L.W.U. in Alaska is because the union down south is strong. Real strong! The employers got to play ball with the union up here if they want the union to play ball with them down there, ain’t that right?” said Georgia.
“You read the union president’s column in the union’s newspaper The Dispatch?” asked Flaco. “The union president whined and pleaded and begged with the American President to stay out of the conflict between the I.L.W.U. and the shipping companies. ‘Oh please Mr. President oh please please pleeeeeez Mr. President Your Highness and Excellency stay out of the conflict between us and the employers, oh pleeeeeeeeez, with sugar on top of it!’ ”
Georgia laughed a deep loud laugh and said, “Pretty please! Ha ha ha! He treats the American President as if he was French royalty or something!”
“He’s the American President – he’s as powerful as that French King Louis!” said Scotty. “We’re fucked if the President calls in the troops.”
“Hey Jay, what do you think the longshoremen should do if the President calls in the troops to occupy the docks?” asked Flaco.
“That’s a tough one Flaco,” I said.
“Ah, c’mon Jay, what do you think?” Flaco demanded.
“I think it’s important to get as many people down on the docks as possible – longshoremen, Teamsters, other workers, sympathetic students. The more people the better to defend those picket lines,” I said.
“You think that’s going to do it?” said Flaco in a slightly mocking tone of voice.
“It wouldn’t hurt to pass out leaflets to the rank and file troops, and try to win as many of them as possible over to the longshoremen’s side,” I said.
“That’s naïve!” said Scotty. “With your college education that’s the best you can come up with?”
“I’m not saying that passing out leaflets to the troops, and trying to talk to them, is necessarily going to stop them from shooting longshoremen,” I said. “But on the other hand, it can’t hurt. A lot of those soldiers are from working class families just like longshoremen. Just think of it - many of the soldiers might be more sympathetic to us workers than to those damn politicians who are always sending them to all these endless wars!”
“Maybe we oughta have this guy or somebody who thinks like him as our union rep.,” said Scotty as he laughed. “Anything’s got to be better than Lameass!”
Copyright 2004 by Wolf Larsen