Sponsors of anti-affirmative action Initiative 200 (including conservative Internet talk-show host John Carlson and Republican politicians) would have you think that racism is dead in Washington State. Think again.

Fifteen black dockworkers can tell you otherwise. Last week, they won an $800,000 out-of-court settlement against shippers and stevedoring companies operating in the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, and three locals of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). The suit charged harassment based on race: the workers were physically assaulted, suffered racial slurs and jokes, and were passed over for job assignments. After they complained to the union, they suffered retaliation from co-workers and supervisors.

During eight days of testimony to a jury, the workers and their witnesses (including white dockworkers) gave examples of racism within the dispatch hall and on the job, and told how black workers were routinely passed over for training opportunities and promotion. The testimony was so emotional and compelling that U.S. District Judge Franklin Burgess gave the companies and the ILWU the chance to save their sorry asses by going back into mediation with the workers to reach a settlement. Clearly, the Old White Boys network is still strong at the Port of Seattle, Mayor Schell's former stomping grounds.

The fact that the ILWU was a major target of the lawsuit is especially unforgivable. Unions have been working hard in the last few years to reverse declining union membership. One of their strategies has been to promote the face of "New Unionism" as one that's predominantly female and non-white. Local unions can be proud of drives to organize farmworkers, daycare workers, nurses, retail workers, and temps. But the destructive spectre of racism and white privilege still remains in some workplaces, including our own longshore local. And it scares people away from all unions.

It's bad enough when bosses act this way, but when a local union turns out to be full of racist jerks, it's time for a real shake-up to happen (and soon).