Will the Strikes of the East hit the West Coast?

"California - where we riot not rally!"

- 2pac

Oh, really? Thousands of workers and union members across Europe went on strike, rioted, and fought police, against austerity measures that would threaten jobs, wages, and benefits. As we've covered before, even as the CEO's and rich worldwide rake in records profits, they're trying to get the poor and working classes to fit the bill for the crisis.

In Spain, a general strike is underway, and thousands of people have bravely faced off against the police, attacked Neo-Nazi bookstores, and endured massive arrests. Watch videos from the general strike here. For more information on how other people in Europe are fighting their governments, go here. Back in the United States, port workers on the East Coast launched a wildcat strike at their ports in New York and New Jersey. According to infoshop.org:

All cargo terminals were closed at the Port of New York and New Jersey on Tuesday, due to a strike by members of the International Longshoremen's Association union, a spokesman said.

"It's a picket line put up by the ILA, and port workers are not crossing the line," said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority New York and New Jersey.

"We have every single type of commodity you can imagine. Furniture, beverages, clothing, automobiles, to name a few," Coleman said.

The port is the biggest coffee port in the United States and handles large amounts of metal from commodity exchanges in London and New York.

"The job action is related to a labor issue at the Port of Philadelphia. It has nothing to do with any labor issues at our port. It's more of a solidarity strike in connection with what's going on at the Port of Philadelphia," Coleman said.

About 200 members of the ILA in Philadelphia are set to lose their jobs by October 1, and they established the picket line in New York/New Jersey in solidarity, said Jim McNamara, spokesman for the ILA.

"I think they are also going to other areas of the country, Florida and Texas," McNamara said, adding that he could not confirm whether the strike was also taking place in Philadelphia.

Union officials have called the strike a 'wildcat' strike, due to the fact that it does not have official union backing. According to libcom.org:

"We just came on our own," said Camden dock worker Ed Reiman. "They are just honoring our picket line." The dispute stems from efforts by fruit-packing giant Del Monte to move its operation from the Camden port to one in Gloucester, N.J., whose workers are represented by a different union.

The action left 12 ships sitting idle, at the cost of $50,000 each a day for the owners of their contents, port officials said.

Before the judge's ruling, the Camden union members vowed to keep up their picket until the dispute was settled.

"We are going to stand here and fight until it's over," said Kevin Ohara. "We don't have jobs to go to."

Here is a report on the situation from the workers themselves.

With numerous Del Monte plants along the west coast, will the wildcat strikes spread here? Will workers in the United States take a cue from workers in Europe? It's all up to us, to decide.