Women fight for a future

By James Vassilopoulos

@box text intro = LIVERPOOL -- When dock workers on the east coast of the United States boycotted ships from Liverpool, Women of the Waterfront (WoW) went to the house of the director of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company to sing “New York, New York, it's a wonderful town”.

Pat Walker from WoW told Green Left Weekly, “We aren't just fighting for our husbands; we are fighting for our children and the next generation. All around the country they're having demonstrations -- the firemen, ambulancemen, at these big factories -- jobs are going everywhere.”

WoW is dedicated to the dockers' struggle. It has been involved in shutting down dock gates in half a foot of snow, staffing picket lines, visiting scabs' houses and singing Christmas carols in front of directors' houses.

On April 10 last year WoW organised a women's demonstration and march to the Seaforth container base.

Public support for the dockers is strong, Walker said. “It's lovely when you do a talk, and they give you a standing ovation.”

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