International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 21 is
offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction
of the person or people who burglarized the union’s meeting hall near the Port
of Longview last month.
On April 9, a safe at the hall was broken into and a large
amount of cash was stolen, according to the union, along with credit cards,
blank checks and paperwork. Also, computers were stolen and anti-union graffiti
was spray painted on the walls.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the
Longview police crime tip line at (360) 442-5920.
The burglary came about two weeks before an ILWU billboard
on Longview’s outskirts was defaced with graffiti, although police have said
the sign vandalism did not appear to be specifically targeting the union.
The billboard, which was erected in November 2011, while the
union was in the midst of a battle over the use of labor at the Port of
Longview’s EGT grain terminal, was replaced May 8. The labor dispute was
settled early this year.
