This 2-page ad supporting SINTRAJAP ran in Sunday's edition of La Nación.
Sunday’s issue of La Nación in Costa Rica sent a clear message from the ILWU Coast Longshore Division: That longshore workers worldwide are loyal to one another, and the ongoing abuse of the Costa Rican dockers’ union SINTRAJAP will not be tolerated. The 2-page ad included a letter translated into in Spanish, and signed by the ILWU Coast Committee, that includes the following excerpts:
Recently, the ILWU learned that the democratically elected leaders of SINTRAJAP Port Workers’ Union in Puerto Limón and Puerto Moín have been removed, and in their place the Government of Costa Rica has installed a new board of government-backed directors. In addition, the Government of Costa Rica has frozen the Union’s bank accounts.
The World Bank and its policies of deregulation, liberalization of markets, and privatization encourage anti-democratic conduct and promote inequality. What is happening to the SINTRAJAP Port Workers’ Union is a prime example. We ask that the Costa Rican government act immediately to restore the democratically elected leaders of SINTRAJAP in Puerto Limón and Puerto Moín and negotiate in good faith with the reinstated leadership over modernization. At the same time, we demand that the Government of the United States recognize and cease its destructive role in promoting the powerful economic sectors that want to put an end to Costa Rican trade unionism in the name of profits and plunder.
Dock workers worldwide are of a strong and unique fraternity that transcends nationalism. Cargo vessels and their owners are not dependent on any one country. Neither are dock workers. An injury to one is an injury to all.