History : Overview
Overview | The ILWU Story Origins | Harry Bridges | Bloody Thursday | Guiding PrinciplesThe ILWU Story Origins
This is the story of a union. It concerns workers of all races and beliefs who came together with one single purpose: to achieve a better life for themselves and their families. It is the story of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, know worldwide as the ILWU. The history of the ILWU, the record of its origins and traditions, is about workers who built a union that is democratic, militant and dedicated to the idea that solidarity with other workers and other unions is the key to achieving economic security and a peaceful world.
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Harry Bridges
In 1920, Harry Bridges walked down the gangplank of an Australian sailing ship and set foot on the San Francisco Waterfront for the first time. Only 19 years old, he was a seasoned 3-year veteran of the high seas. His eyes had already seen so much. Images of worldwide poverty and disease haunted him. And. As a sailor he knew first hand about isolation, miserable and humiliating living conditions, and the ever-present struggle autocratic power. Although he grew up comfortably in conservative middle-class surroundings - his father was a prosperous real estate agent- Bridges developed a “feel” for the working class and poor early on. His uncle was the catalyst.
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Bloody Thursday
In 1933 the economic depression that started in 1929 had hit the nation full-force. Longshoremen, who had long suffered their own special kind of depression through chronic job insecurity, now experienced even deeper hardship. Genuine union organization became a matter of survival. An employer controlled blue-book union was not the answer. The demands were very simple: a union controlled hiring hall that would end all forms of favoritism. An end to contrived shape-ups and kickbacks. An end to saloon deals for Straw-bosses in exchange for dispatch favors.
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Guiding Principles
1. A union is built on it’s members. The strength, understanding and unity of membership can determine the union’s course and it’s advancements. The members who work, who make up the union and pay dues, can best determine their own destiny. If the facts are honestly presented to the members in the ranks, they will best judge what should be done and how it should be done. In brief, It is the membership of the union which is the best judge of it’s own welfare; not the officers, not the employers, not politicians and fair weather friends of labor. Above all, this approach is based on the conviction that given the truth and the opportunity to determine their own course of action, the rank and file in 99 cases out of 100 will take the right path in their interests of all the people.
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