International President 
Robert “Big Bob” McEllrath

Brothers and Sisters of the ILWU: 
I am honored and proud to have the opportunity to serve a second term as your International President. I truly appreciate the support I have been given and the confidence that the members have placed in me. The ILWU has been a part of my life since I was young when my father got his registration. I was fortunate to get into the Longshore Division in 1969 and I have never looked back.

During the 134-day strike in 1971, I learned to be prepared in case we needed to strike again and that this preparedness is another strength of our union. I attended the union meetings, worked with and listened to the “Old Timers,” and learned the principals and history of our union. I count myself fortunate to have met and heard our founder, Harry Bridges, when he spoke at meetings during my younger years.

Being elected caucus delegate in the mid-‘80s, I have been at every convention and caucus since, watching our ILWU history unfold. I have served the union as a Coast Committeeman for four years, and been the International Vice-President for six years, before being elected President three years ago.

I was elected to Small Port Negotiator for the Longshore Master Agreement in 1993 and again in 1996. In 1999 as a Coast Committeeman, I was elected Co-chair for the negotiating committee, and in 2002 as Vice President of the International was Co-Chair of the Contract Bargaining, and in 2008 as the ILWU president I was the Negotiating Committee Chairman. I also chaired the Shipboard Grain and In-House Grain Negotiations in the Pacific Northwest, and assisted in the All Alaska Longshore Negotiations and the Local 5 Powell’s Book negotiations. I served as an officer under three of the five presidents the ILWU has had in its 75-year history, giving me the experience and the knowledge to lead this union through the term ahead.

Our nation is in a recession nearly as deep as the Great Depression, and employers are using this as an opportunity to try and whittle at the negotiated gains in all sections of our union. I can assure you I will lead based on my experience, my sense of right, and with input from the rank and file. We must continue to build our International relationships as well as being a strong voice for labor in the United States. We must be fair and right within our union, treat Locals equitably and minimize anything that divides us and weakens the structure of our organization.

We need to educate our members to understand and maintain our history and loyalty as opposed to forcing the union to spend countless hours and huge sums of money fighting within. My goal is to keep our union strong, clean, and focused on the greater good for the greater number of our members. Again, I thank you for your support. An injury to one is an injury to all.

International Vice President, 
Mainland - Ray A. Familathe

I am proud to say this is my 21st year in the ILWU. For the last 16 years I’ve worked throughout the world expanding our international relations and solidarity. I currently serve as International Affairs Director for the Longshore Division and International. I have worked under the direction of International Presidents David Arian, Brian McWilliams, James Spinosa, Robert McEllrath, and the International Executive Board. During the 2002 and 2008 Longshore contract negotiations I coordinated our solidarity efforts worldwide with the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and International Dockworkers Council (IDC) which helped our Longshore division on the mainland secure successful contracts. But before all this, I began my career working at a railyard facility in Southern California.

In 1987 the ILWU had just won an organizing drive at the newly built $54 million ICTF railyard in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The 175 workers overwhelmingly elected for ILWU representation. I was hired shortly after the election in 1988. The workers were excited about the future and their new contract with Local 13’s Allied Division. In 1989 I was elected Business Agent representing this unit which had grown from 175 to 300 workers. I experienced many challenges to building this unit which required the need to educate shop stewards on grievance handling and arbitrations to better serve the membership. In late 1991 Southern Pacific Railroad, still bitter over the ILWU securing jurisdiction a mere four miles from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, used their power and influence along with the city, state, and federal politicians to justify their “Lockout” of the ILWU workforce. This struggle received tremendous support from the entire ILWU family but was unfortunately lost. I am proud to say that many workers that endured this struggle have moved up in the ILWU ranks in various divisions/units and are our leaders today.

Having worked for many years as a casual longshoreman I was registered to Class B Longshore status in 1995 with Local 13. Since then I have been elected to the Executive Board, Caucus/ Convention Delegate and Business Agent. I also worked with the ILWU’s Organizing Department to organize the LAXT Coal Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles.

My passion for organizing workers comes from working with the ITF Flags of Convenience Campaign fighting for the rights of seafarers that come from developing countries who are exploited by ship owners. I get excited reading our rich history written by great leaders and organizers like Harry Bridges, Lou Goldblatt, Jack Hall and Ah Quon McElrath.

I have worked with most all of the locals/ divisions of the ILWU and Canada. I believe we need strong local unions and a strong national labor movement, but the key to all this in the global economy is having an international program and network. I have helped to build the ILWU’s for 16 years. My work has prepared me to take the next step by asking for your vote for International Vice President, Mainland.

International Vice President, 
Hawaii - Wesley “Wes” Furtado

My name is Wesley “Wes” Furtado and I am seeking re-election as your ILWU International Vice President-Hawaii.

RANK AND FILE EXPERIENCE - As a rankand-file union member of the Longshore industry I gained experience as a shop steward and negotiating committee member. It was these experiences that ignited my passion for unionism and helping fellow members.

ORGANIZER - From the 1980s to 2000s we helped organize large numbers of workers into our union. Those workers were employed at hotels, golf courses, agriculture companies, transportation companies, maritime companies and more. Working with a lot of different people from all different backgrounds and cultures taught me a lot about my fellow union members. As part of the Hawaii organizing department, we led many organizing campaigns and assisted with first campaigns and contract renewals in tourism, general trades, agriculture companies and the maritime industry. Although my personal role has changed over the years (from organizer, to Business Agent, to International Representative, to International Vice-President) my passion to strengthen expand our union remains strong.

HAWAII ORGANIZING - As International Vice President Hawaii, we have worked hard to adapt and improve how our union operates. In Hawaii we have adopted a strategic organizing strategy that has greatly improved our success and efficiency. This triennium has yielded high success rate for organizing campaigns and achieving first contracts for newly organized ILWU members. I personally negotiated agreements to organize new units in the maritime industry and assisted with a hotel organizing campaign and setting the tone for the first contract negotiations.

LONGSHORE NEGOTIATIONS - Over the last 12 months I was directly involved with the Hawaii Longshore Division Committee contract negotiations with Longshore and Inter-island Barge operation employers. Hawaii Longshore agreements covers Longshore, Clerks, Mechanics and CFS-CY. Interisland Barge agreements cover Longshore, Clerks, Mechanics, and Office Clerks.

POLITICAL ACTION - In addition to grass roots education and mobilizing we lobby elected officials on national and local levels and educate them on the interests of working people and the Labor movement. Grass roots efforts of union members in home districts makes our political action program effective. I can tell you that the contributions and efforts of individual members makes government officials truly listen when we meet them face-to-face to discuss issues with them.

If re-elected I will do my best to continue fighting to protect the gains that we have earned together and to organize new members into our union.