Longview man cleared two years after joining longshore rally near railroad tracks

ILWU International President thanks community for solidarity

LONGVIEW, WA — More than two years after Jeff Washburn was arrested in Longview, Wash., during the ILWU’s 2011 struggle for good jobs, Cowlitz County prosecutors finally dismissed charges against him. Mr. Washburn, then president of the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties Labor Council and business agent for the United Association of Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 26, was arrested on September 7, 2011, while attending an ILWU demonstration at the Fibre Way Overpass. At the time he was arrested, Mr. Washburn was peacefully standing next to the railroad tracks when Cowlitz County Sheriff’s deputies moved in and disrupted the demonstration, arresting dozens of people.

Mr. Washburn was initially convicted in March 2012 of a misdemeanor called obstructing or delaying a train. His trial was seriously flawed, and, ultimately, after he appealed, even the prosecutors agreed to reverse the conviction. Yet, despite the fact that the ILWU-EGT dispute had settled in early 2012, Cowlitz County prosecutors continued to waste precious time and public resources by announcing that they would re-try Mr. Washburn. That trial was supposed to begin on November 1, 2013.

Finally, on October 30, on the eve of trial, the prosecutors gave up and moved to dismiss the charges against Mr. Washburn.

“Mr. Washburn was wrongly arrested for attending a peaceful demonstration to support his brothers and sisters in the labor movement, and we’re glad that his record has been rightfully cleared,” said Robert McEllrath, a Vancouver Longshoreman who’s the ILWU’s International President. “The support of Mr. Washburn and thousands of people in the Longview area made a positive difference in ensuring good jobs for the community.”

Jim Morgan, the attorney who represented Washburn, said, “Jeff stood strong against what was obviously a pressure tactic against union interests, and this dismissal is really an admission that the prosecutor knew that the evidence would not support the charge. I am proud to have represented this man who was ready to fight to the end to defend his innocence.”

— ILWU Coast Longshore Division news release