About 200 union delegates will convene at the Portland Hilton June 4-8 for the 2018 convention of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
The 35,000-member union represents dock and warehouse workers in Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States and Canada, as well as workers at Powell’s Books and the Oregon Historical Society in Portland.
For ILWU leader “Big Bob” McEllrath, it will be his last convention as president. McEllrath, originally from ILWU Local 4 in Vancouver, Washington, has been ILWU president since 2006, but under the ILWU Constitution he is age-limited from running again. Delegates are expected to winnow down candidates for international union office so that rank-and-file members can choose between the top two in mail ballots later this summer.
