[21], In November 2019, a terminal operations company, International Container Terminal Services Oregon, won a $94 million jury trial verdict against ILWU for unlawful labor practices including "work stoppages, slowdowns, safety gimmicks and other coercive actions" which occurred between August 2013 and March 2017 at the Port of Portland (Oregon) terminal, and resulted in all shippers ceasing to use the terminal. In protest of the Iraq War, the ILWU encouraged longshore workers to "shut down all West Coast ports" by walking off the job on May 1, 2008, to "make May Day a 'No Peace, No Work' holiday." "San Francisco can be the new Liverpool," Castell told Gleason right off the bat. [58] Further raids were carried out at the Workers' Open Forum at 1223 Fillmore street and the Western Worker building opposite City Hall that contained a bookstore and the main offices of the Communist Party, which was thoroughly destroyed. [8][9] The MWIU never made much headway on the West Coast, but it did attract a number of former IWW members and foreign-born militants. The issues included wages and hours: the longshoremen wanted $1 an hour, the six hour day and the thirty hour week. Some 130,000 workers had left their jobs; exceptions, as in the 1919 Seattle General Strike, were Milk and Bakery Drivers, and those who maintained medical and hospital services. The struggle, then, had just begun. [18], The sticking point in the strike was recognition: the union demanded a closed shop, a coastwide contract and a union hiring hall. [30], Shipping companies, government officials, some union leaders and the press began to raise fears that the strike was the result of communist agitation. The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike (also known as the 1934 West Coast Longshoremen's Strike, as well as a number of variations on these names) lasted 83 days, and began on May 9, 1934 when longshoremen in every US West Coast port walked out. Certainly. Longshoreman Howard Keylor knew when to unload a ship and he knew when to refuse. They came to see themselves far from the wharf rats of before rather as The Lords of the Docks, proclaiming, immodestly, We are the most militant and organized group of workers the world has ever seen. All this, they did, from the bottom up. The history of longshoremen, wrote the late historian E.J. On May 15, for the first time in history, not a single freighter sailed from a Pacific Coast Port. In San Francisco, the shippers best hopes, however fanciful, were dashed on May 13 when city truck drivers voted unanimously not to work on the docks, this despite the opposition of their leaders. A number of former IWW members and other militants, such as Harry Bridges, an Australian-born sailor who became a longshoreman after coming to the United States, soon joined the International Longshoremen's Association, when passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933 led to an explosion in union membership in the ILA among West Coast longshoremen. [14], In August 2013, the ILWU disaffiliated from the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). [50] Roosevelt later recalled that some persons were urging him to steer the USS Houston, which was carrying him to Hawaii, "into San Francisco Bay, all flags flying and guns double-shotted, and end the strike." [48], San Francisco Mayor Angelo Rossi declared a state of emergency. What began as an isolated longshoremen's dispute developed in the spring and summer of 1934 into one of the most sweeping and violent industrial conflicts of the Great Depression. [24], The Roosevelt administration tried again to broker a deal to end the strike, but the membership twice rejected the agreements their leadership brought to them and continued the strike. [65], While some of the most powerful people in San Francisco considered the strike's denouement to be a victory for the employers, many longshoremen and seamen did not. It was home to more than a few longshoremen and their families, workers who still lived where they worked. A crowd did show up. Financial Statements, Year Ended June 30, 2022 (Local 26 and 75) We believe in a country where everyone who works hard can see the doctor, give their kids a good start, and have a secure retirement. The same happened in Portland and Seattle. 2. 17 March 2022. Dispatch 310-834-7213. [21] Strikers attacked the stockade housing strikebreakers in San Pedro on May 15; police fired into the strikers, killing two and injuring many. He joined the group that put out the Waterfront Worker, a mimeographed sheet that sold for a penny; it was written by sailors and longshoremen and featured articles on hiring, working conditions and the bosses. Where We Are a Service Provider. Dockworkers, also known as longshoremen and women, are employed by the International Warehouse and Longshore Union (ILWU). The issues included wages and hours: the longshoremen wanted $1 an hour, the six hour day and the thirty hour week. [16] The MWIU faded away as party activists followed the mass of West Coast longshoremen into the ILA. Possibly, the strike marked just a first stage of the 1930s rebellion. Leave a reply Cancel reply . On July27 the dockers unloaded mail from the Makara, an Australian freighter, the first to be worked in nearly three months. 7/15/1976 - Hot Tuna 2/8/1969 - Tim Buckley 2/1/1969 - Steve Miller Band 11/4/1968 - Grateful Dead . These charts show the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Longshoreman in San Francisco, CA. At this point someone reportedly called the union hall to ask "Are you willing to arbitrate now?". [77], Bloody Thursday, a documentary film that told the story of the strike, was broadcast on PBS stations across the nation and was awarded a Los Angeles Area Emmy for best historical film in 2010. The ILWU Coast Longshore Division and its 30 locals in 29 ports from San Diego, California to Bellingham, Washington are working determinedly to navigate this complex and challenging moment on behalf of the more than 20,000 ILWU workers risking their lives to support the economy and ensure the movement of essential goods needed to fight the The strike was not a communist strike, a handful of party members notwithstanding, although cults of Bridges, the union and leadership have distorted this history, exaggerating triumphs and disguising failings. The organization continued to negotiate agreements, with less strife than in the 1930s and 1940s, and Bridges continued to be reelected without serious opposition. Source: Wikipedia (as of 04/18/2019). It was established in 1937, after the historic 1934 General Strike and after voting to disaffiliate from the International Longshoremens Association (ILA). The over 7,000 longshoremen represented through the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) that work at the Southern California port are paid over $100,000 a year and receive free. So-called Class A longshoremen, who have pensions and benefits along with guaranteed hours, routinely earn more than $100,000 a year. 5 The Riggers' and Stevedores' Union Association was formed in 1853 with the intent "to regulate the prices of work to be demanded per ton of cargo and to regulate the wages paid to longshoremen". . The average Longshoreman salary in San Francisco, CA is $74,356 as of January 26, 2023, but the salary range typically falls between $67,071 and $82,167. For older Memos, please check our archive. Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers: For a real-time salary target, tell us more about your role in the four categories below. [27], Some Teamsters supported the strikers by refusing to handle "hot cargo" goods which had been unloaded by strikebreakers although the Teamsters' leadership was not as supportive. Hourly Rate. Those jobs are landed only through the drawing and some can stay in the positions for more than a decade. Organized by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), the strike peaked with the death of two workers on "Bloody Thursday" and the San Francisco General Strike which stopped all work in the major port city for four days and led ultimately to the settlement of the West Coast Longshoremen's Strike. [15], Events soon made the MWIU wholly irrelevant. If you are not a union member you won't get to work the docks. It believed it could succeed in doing this, in alliance, when possible, with the conservative leaders of the AFL, then the CIO, including those in the San Francisco Labor Council, whom they never doubted. The unions were made more democratic; racism was challenged; their chief weapons, solidarity and direct action. In the years before the war, they fought incessantly; they detached themselves from the New York gangsters who ran the ILA. William Crocker, the San Francisco banker was jubilant, Labor is licked. The longshoremen had opposed arbitration; they had little faith in the National Longshoremens Board. William E. Adams, International PresidentInternational Longshore and Warehouse Union, James McKenna, President & CEOPacific Maritime Association, Mario Cordero, Executive DirectorPort of Long Beach, Eugene D. Seroka, Executive DirectorPort of Los Angeles, John Wolfe , Chief Executive Officer Eligiblestudents are encouraged to apply. Posted: (4 days ago)WebThe International Longshoremen's Association is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing upwards of 65,000 longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. Job Description Ilaunion.org JobsView All Jobs STEADY JOB POSTINGS ILWU Local 63 "[46] After dozens of Bay Area unions voted for a general strike over the next few days, the San Francisco Labor Council voted on July 14 to call a general strike. By the morning of July 12, twenty unions had voted to strike. B.A. The Portregularly offers mentorship and experience to students wanting a glimpseinto public sector careers throughCity-sponsored internshipprograms. Your email address will not be published. Tramp-tramp-tramp, on the workers plodded, bareheaded, no talking, not even a cigarette. On May 9, 1934 West Coast longshoremen struck, shutting down docks along 2000 miles of coastline, including all its major ports: Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, San Francisco, San Pedro, San Diego. Vigilantes, led by American Legionnaires, unleashed a reign of terror; union halls were ransacked, soup kitchens destroyed, the offices of the Western Worker looted. 58, No. Longshore Updates. Could more have been won? The ILWU represents tens of thousands of workers who load and unload ships (traditionally called longshoremen) and others in the transportation industry, especially in warehouses and canneries. List of hospitals in San Francisco, CA. They returned the tear gas canisters. [6][7] Union members also engaged in a number of sympathy strikes in support of other maritime unions' demands. Payroll Shortages Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library, Bloody Thursday 1934: The Strike that Shook San Francisco and Rocked the Pacific Coast. The San Francisco longshoremen called the Embarcadero the slave market there, each morning at 8 am, workers would gather, as often as not desperate for any opportunity to work. [76] The ILWU has frequently stopped work for political protests against, among other things, Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, fascist intervention in Spain's civil war, South Africa's system of apartheid and the Iraq War. The base salary for Longshoreman ranges from $67,271 to $82,409 with the average base salary of $74,578. The International Longshoremen's Association is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing upwards of 70,000 longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada A Rich History Briefly, he was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW); by the 1930s he was known as a plain speaking, militant who consistently championed the cause of the rank-and-file longshoremen. The strike had empowered them, it had illuminated their courage. According to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, as of October 5, there were a total of 143 ships in port: 88 at anchor or drift areas and 55 at berths. There was little to celebrate. This incident is known as Bloody Thursday and is commemorated every year by ILWU members. 1937 June 17, 1937 . Longshoremen in San Francisco, then the major port on the coast, were required to go through a hiring hall operated by a company union, known as the "blue book" system for the color of the union's membership book. [8] Also, by the own admission of Richard Lynden, the San Francisco locale's president, the ILWU failed to work on the upgrading (promotion) of its black members. [78], Confrontationbetweenapolicemanwieldinganight stick and a striker during the San Francisco General Strike, 1934, San Francisco Coroner's Records of Death for Howard Sperry and Nicolas Bordoise, An Exercise in Hysteria: San Francisco's Red Raids of 1934 David F. Selvin The Pacific Historical Review, Vol. Got lucky in the 2018 draw & was referred by some locals here on the sf piers by word where I work part time and sent a post card, no immediate connections, so I called pma in july and they said 950's. I'll wait till my hair turns grey for this. The Coast Committee is currentlyrepresented bythe following officers: Willie Adams, International President 361374, Last edited on 13 February 2023, at 04:50, Learn how and when to remove this template message, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, History of the west coast of North America, List of worker deaths in United States labor disputes, "The Communist Party, the unions, and the San Francisco General Strike", "How Coit Tower's murals became a target for anticommunist forces", "Sam Kagel -- arbitrator in major labor disputes (obit)", "KOCE Snags an LA Emmy for Bloody Thursday OC Weekly". [42] Similarly, federal soldiers of the United States Army stationed at the Presidio were placed on alert. [19] In Southern California, the lockout slowdown caused more than twenty-five cargo ships to idle off the coast, affecting over 700 mariners, primarily Overseas Filipinos. Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks. Our Customers are organizations such as federal, state, local, tribal, or other municipal government agencies (including administrative agencies, departments, and offices thereof), private businesses, and educational institutions (including without limitation K-12 schools, colleges, universities, and vocational schools), who use our Services to evaluate job . See user submitted job responsibilities for Longshoreman. Still, the widespread police campaign of terror and the rise in vigilantism had taken its toll. [29] They encouraged the strikers to take what they could get from the employers and threatened to use Teamsters as strikebreakers if the ILA did not return to work. The San Francisco and Alameda County Central Labor Councils voted to call a general strike in support of the longshoremen, shutting down much of San Francisco and the Bay Area for four days, ending with the union's agreement to arbitrate the remaining issues in dispute. [removed] CharSeven777 3 yr. ago. With more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, Salary.com helps you determine your exact pay target. The employers complained that the union wanted to "sovietize" the waterfront. The Family Dog put on concerts here in 1965 featuring The Jefferson Airplane, The Charlatans, The Great Society, Lovin Spoonful and others. Well before the October agreement, the longshoremen had underway a campaign that would utterly transform working conditions and relations on the West Coast. could the workers have won more? [57], On July 17, 1934, the California National Guard blocked both ends of Jackson Street from Drumm to Front with machine gun mounted trucks to assist vigilante raids, protected by SFPD, on the headquarters of the Marine Workers' Industrial Union and the ILA soup kitchen at 84 Embarcadero. They wanted union representation. The ILWU and the PMA reached a tentative agreement for a new six-year Longshore Contract in July 2008. [26] On Tuesday, July 3, fights broke out along the Embarcadero in San Francisco between police and strikers while a handful of trucks driven by young businessmen made it through the picket line. San Francisco Steady Skilled Men 196 San Francisco Bay Area Crane Board 198 San Francisco Utility Man/Lift Drivers 198 San Francisco Local 10 Day and Night . Unions serving the Port include chapters of the ILWU, . The union has documented that productivity was in fact stable at that time, while the employer claims to have contradictory data. [25] The president said that "With this action in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, we send a message that we unequivocally condemn the Russian invasion"[26] The ILWU was part of the global industrial boycott of port and maritime workers against Russian-flagged ships and cargo. [8] However, "black union members were a minuscule group within the ILWU [leadership] hierarchy", with the few exceptions concentrated in the Oakland locale, which had an even larger black membership than San Francisco. The young Harry Bridges (16), son of an Australian real estate broker, had left home and gone to sea, inspired in part by reading the stories of Jack London, and there became a union man. They were required, the late historian David Montgomery wrote, to push or pull enormous weights, aided only by the most elementary inclines, pulleys, winches, and screws and above all their own teamwork. This conditioned their outlook and consciousness and created a common outlook, an outlook that might extend even into the crowded waterfront neighborhoods. The San Francisco and Alameda County Central Labor Councils voted to call a general strike in support of the longshoremen, shutting down much of San Francisco and the Bay Area for four days, ending with the union's agreement to arbitrate the remaining issues in dispute. The strikers charged the police lines, only to be driven back by tear-gas and then live ammunition. [68] Other unions went further: the Marine Firemen proposed to punish any member who bought a Hearst newspaper. [13][14] While a number of the individuals in this group were Communist Party members, the group as a whole was independent of the party: although it criticized the International Seamen's Union (ISU) as weak and the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), which had its base on the East Coast, as corrupt, it did not embrace the MWIU, but called instead for creation of small knots of activists at each port to serve as the first step in a slow, careful movement to unionize the industry. There is but one thing to be done put down the revolt with any force necessary. The Mayor appointed a committee of 500 businessmen to orchestrate the response. AFL President William Green disowned it. [17] When the conservative ILA leadership negotiated a weak "gentlemen's agreement" with the employers that had been brokered by the mediation board created by the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bridges led the membership in rejecting it. San Francisco and its waterfront is a place that welcomes everyone, celebrates diversity, and measures its success by how its services and governance champion equity. The march made an enormous impact on San Franciscans, making a general strike, which had formerly been "the visionary dream of a small group of the most radical workers, became a practical and realizable objective. The ISU used this power to drive strikebreakers out of the industry. The Council then created a committee of 25 to organize and lead the strike, but comprised of conservatives, all people who had opposed the strike. Nevertheless, thousands are expected to enter the local longshoremen union's first drawing in seven years for 81 "unidentified casual" jobs to be held next month. Shipping has changed since 1934, but one thing has not: our commitment to making sure West Coast ports have good-paying jobs with benefits that support families and communities. One of the men, Howard Sperry, a striking longshoreman, later died of his wounds. On the docks, conditions were crude, the longshoremans work changed little one generation to the next; cargo, no matter how rough, was loaded and unloaded essentially by hand, by gangs of men who relied chiefly on physical strength and skill and cooperation. [15][73], Sam Kagel, the last surviving member of the original union steering committee, died on May 21, 2007 at the age of 98. ), Cal Winslows newest book is E.P. The police invariably arrived just after the vigilantes had left and promptly arrested those who had been beaten. Similar raids were carried out throughout the West.