On 24 November 1984, dockworkers in San Francisco began a boycott of South African cargo in protest against the apartheid regime.
The Nedlloyd Kimberley ship arrived at pier 80, containing goods from around the world, including South Africa. Dockworkers organised in local 10 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) refused to unload the cargo from South Africa, which included car parts, wine and steel.
The month prior, local 10 had shown an anti-apartheid film at a union meeting, after which members passed a motion to boycott the next arrival of South African cargo.
Workers went without their pay to continue their boycott for a total of 11 days, until a federal court injunction to do it, under the threat of fines and prison.
At the time, the US government of Ronald Reagan supported apartheid South Africa and considered the anti-apartheid resistance to be terrorists.
Over the past 100 years, in addition to boycotting cargo from apartheid South Africa, local 10 members also initiated boycotts of Italian goods during their invasion of Ethiopia, Japanese goods during their invasion of China, and Israeli goods in opposition to apartheid policies in occupied Palestine.
San Francisco docks apartheid boycott - WCH | Stories
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