Apparently a 1,000 Longshoremen in Seattle held a wildcat strike and shut down the Port of Longview, detaining security guards in the process and dumping grain from railway cars in protest.
According to an article the police went to make arrests but had to back down when the protestors stood up to them.
At one point, police tried to arrest a small number of the union activists on railroad tracks in Longview, but the crowd surged forward. The sheriff's office said just three arrests were made "before it became too dangerous for officers and they withdrew." The police retreated about 150 feet.
What I find interesting about this story, aside from it being a sign of what's actually going on out there in the real world, is that it highlights the importance of PR.
PR can be, and should be, a force for non-violence in society. It's when people feel they don't have a voice, that no one is listening, that they then turn to more extreme measures. And while peaceful protests can be (and should be) used as a PR tactic, detaining security guards and damaging property is a really bad way to promote your cause.
And for those who wonder why organizations have policies that prohibit employees from speaking to the media unless they have been approved to do so by the PR department, watch the video below of a Longshoreman who decides to engage the media (warning: excessive swearing contained in the video).
You have to laugh when the camera guy says "You aren't with the PR staff are you?'
Ironically, PR may be the cause of this mess. It may not be a coincidence that we are seeing this kind of extreme protest just days after James Hoffa, Teamster President, used pretty antagonistic language in his speech to a crowd prior to Obama giving a speech. Calling union workers 'Obama's army' and using a rally cry of "Let's take these SOB's out."
It's unfortunate to watch this trend of grand standing and playing to populous anger unfolding. As I discussed in my previous post, class warfare won't help anyone this time around.I just hope someone comes forward on the PR front with a measure of reason (at this point I don't think that will be Obama or the Republicans).
Oh well, at least I'm sure the times we are living in will make for an interesting movie some day. The movie Hoffa is actually one of my favourite movies (Jack Nicholson at his best) - great drama, but not something I'd want to see happen in modern society.
According to an article the police went to make arrests but had to back down when the protestors stood up to them.
At one point, police tried to arrest a small number of the union activists on railroad tracks in Longview, but the crowd surged forward. The sheriff's office said just three arrests were made "before it became too dangerous for officers and they withdrew." The police retreated about 150 feet.
What I find interesting about this story, aside from it being a sign of what's actually going on out there in the real world, is that it highlights the importance of PR.
PR can be, and should be, a force for non-violence in society. It's when people feel they don't have a voice, that no one is listening, that they then turn to more extreme measures. And while peaceful protests can be (and should be) used as a PR tactic, detaining security guards and damaging property is a really bad way to promote your cause.
And for those who wonder why organizations have policies that prohibit employees from speaking to the media unless they have been approved to do so by the PR department, watch the video below of a Longshoreman who decides to engage the media (warning: excessive swearing contained in the video).
You have to laugh when the camera guy says "You aren't with the PR staff are you?'
Ironically, PR may be the cause of this mess. It may not be a coincidence that we are seeing this kind of extreme protest just days after James Hoffa, Teamster President, used pretty antagonistic language in his speech to a crowd prior to Obama giving a speech. Calling union workers 'Obama's army' and using a rally cry of "Let's take these SOB's out."
It's unfortunate to watch this trend of grand standing and playing to populous anger unfolding. As I discussed in my previous post, class warfare won't help anyone this time around.I just hope someone comes forward on the PR front with a measure of reason (at this point I don't think that will be Obama or the Republicans).
Oh well, at least I'm sure the times we are living in will make for an interesting movie some day. The movie Hoffa is actually one of my favourite movies (Jack Nicholson at his best) - great drama, but not something I'd want to see happen in modern society.
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