International Longshoremen's Association
From the outset, Keefe faced significant challenges, most notably the outright hostility to unions of Chicago's influential industrialists and the traditional anti-union leanings of longshore recruits from small Midwestern towns.The organization of coastwise longshoremen in 1916 was a significant victory that greatly improved the ILA's position at bargaining tables: shippers no longer had the option of diverting freight from striking ports along the Atlantic.The ILA survived, even after an open shop campaign on the West Coast and a failed strike in New York City in 1919 left it much weakened.During the Great Depression, masses of unemployed workers flooded the market with cheap labor and company unions flourished.Unlike the Port of New York or Boston which were dominated by Irish and German immigrants, Baltimore's stevedores and longshoremen were overwhelmingly Polish.[3] The port of Baltimore had an international reputation of fast cargo handling credited to the well-organized gang system that was nearly free of corruption, wildcat strikes and constant work stoppages unlike its other East coast counterparts.[4] In an environment as dangerous as a busy waterfront, the Baltimore's gangs always operated together as a unit, because the experience let them know what each member would do at any given time making a water front a much safer place.[7] In September 2024, in their negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance, the ILA demanded a total ban on automation of cranes, gates and containers at 36 U.S.[11] Daggett criticized a labor agreement that the ILWU, the main longshoreman's union on the West Coast, achieved in 2023 with the help of the Joe Biden administration, which boosted salaries by 32%.[12] Ryan never trusted Bridges, even though he was forced to make him an International officer in recognition of his de facto power on the West Coast.Extending the investigation beyond its original mandate, the Corsi Report first addressed the voting procedures initially at question—which turned out to be flawed, but not fraudulent[citation needed]—and then went on to focus on irregularities in the administration of several New York locals.It was grist for the press, as well as that of Governor Thomas E. Dewey, who ordered his New York State Crime Commission to conduct a full investigation of the ILA.Meanwhile, 17,000 longshoremen voted in the 1953 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election[13] to determine representation in the Port of New York.ILA loyalists and many other longshoremen were at best suspicious of the IBL, which they viewed as a machine of the Waterfront Commission and a scab union—an organization of workers perceived as having a role in strike breaking.By early March 1954, the storm finally hit when Teamster President Dave Beck was perceived as betraying the ILA by refusing to cross an IBL picket line.The balance of power began to shift as Gleason gained ground against the IBL and longshoremen along the coast refused to handle diverted cargo.Some employers outside New York who faced the loss of business as a result of the agreement challenged the "Rules on Containers" that were negotiated and agreed to by management and labor as a means of preserving jobs.In 1953 the states of New York and New Jersey entered into an interstate compact, with Congressional approval, that established a Waterfront Commission responsible for regulating the ILA by preventing individuals with a criminal record from holding positions within it.The Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, passed in 1959, imposed similar restrictions on all private sector unions.
swallowtail flagNorth Bergen, New JerseyUnited StatesCanadaHarold DaggettAFL–CIOlabor unionlongshoreEast Coast of the United StatesGulf CoastGreat LakesPuerto RicoInternational Longshore and Warehouse UnionGeorge Washingtonsteamboatmottosport of New YorkAmerican Federation of LaborDaniel KeefeWest CoastChicagosimilar coastwide strikeJoseph P. RyanThomas V. O'ConnorAnthony ChlopekIndustrial Workers of the WorldPhiladelphiaopen shopNew York CityNorris – La Guardia Act1934 West Coast longshore strikeCongress of Industrial OrganizationsBaltimoreBostonGermanlongshoremenSecond World WarWaterfront Commission of New York HarborUnited States Maritime Alliancea strikeHarry BridgesNational Maritime UnionshapeupThomas E. DeweyJoseph RyanThomas "Teddy" GleasonNational Labor Relations BoardWaterfront CommissionDave Beckwildcat strikeTeddy GleasoncontainerizationUnited States Supreme CourtFederal Trade CommissionNew YorkNew JerseyCongressionalLabor Management Reporting and Disclosure ActSoviet UnionAfghanistanNorris-LaGuardia Actsecondary boycottTaft-Hartley ActJohn BowersHarold J. DaggettAnthony AnastasioAnthony "Sonny" CicconeDanny GreeneNew York City tugboat strike of 1946Paul KellyPete PantoAnthony ScottoGambino crime familyOn the WaterfrontHoboken, New JerseyLongshoremen v. Allied Int'l, Inc.The Washington PostAFL-CIO George MeanyLane KirklandThomas R. DonahueJohn J. SweeneyRichard TrumkaLiz ShulerBuilding TradesMaritime TradesMetal TradesProfessional EmployeesTransportation TradesUnion LabelA. Philip Randolph InstituteAlliance for Retired AmericansAsian Pacific American Labor AllianceCoalition of Black Trade UnionistsCoalition of Labor Union WomenLabor Council for Latin American AdvancementPride at WorkInternational Labor Communications AssociationSolidarity CenterWorking for America InstituteAmerican Rights at WorkInternational Rescue CommitteeJewish Labor CommitteeLabor and Working-Class History AssociationWorking AmericaAFL–CIO Employees Federal Credit UnionNational Labor CollegeAffiliated unionsAFSCMELocalsIronworkersIUANPWNFLPA/FPANWSLPAOPCMIAPrinters & EngraversSAG-AFTRAWorkers UnitedUNITE HEREUURWAWSouth BayFloridaIndianaMassachusettsOregonPennsylvania