December 10, 2013
By Neal Tepel
North Bergen, NJ – The International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO celebrates the life, the legacy and the example of Nelson Mandela. Though saddened by his death on December 5th, 2013 as all good people from around the world mourn his passing, the members of the International Longshoremen’s Association will champion Mr. Mandela’s life by taking up his fight for freedom, justice and compassion for all citizens.
“With quiet dignity, Nelson Mandela offered 60 years of his life fighting for the rights of South Africans and all of humanity,” said ILA President Harold J. Daggett. “From prisoner to president, Nelson Mandela showed the world that the righteous shall triumph.”
The ILA recalls Mr. Mandela’s powerful words in 1964 when he was about to begin 18 years of imprisonment . “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live, and to see realized. But my Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
“The ILA and its members extend our deepest condolences to Nelson Mandela’s family, his colleagues and all the people of South Africa,” said ILA President Daggett.
