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International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU),
Local 13 Records, Part III
URB.ILWU-III
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU), Local 13 Records,
Part III
Creator:
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local 13
(Wilmington, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Identifier/Call Number: URB.ILWU-III
Extent:
30.31 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1934-1998
Abstract: The International Longshore and
Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West
Coast of the United States, and was established in 1937. The Los Angeles Chapter, Local 13,
was established shortly thereafter. The collection documents the establishment, development,
goals, and achievements of unionism on the Pacific Coast, including labor/management
relations, labor conditions on the waterfront, the sudden effects of mechanization on the
longshore labor force, and the day-to-day administration of this longshore union.
Language of Material: English,
Spanish; Castilian
In 1892, members of the longshore union met in Detroit, Michigan to christen their
organization as the National Longshoremen's Association of the United States. The new union
quickly became an official arm of the trade unionist movement by joining with the American
Federation of Labor (AFL). With successful expansion into ports on the east and west coasts,
including several Canadian ports by 1895, the union changed its name to the International
Longshoremen's Association (ILA).
By the end of 1933, West Coast longshoremen voted to suspend local ILA president Lee
Holman rather than accept a conservative contract largely supported by the East Coast
membership. This was a major setback for ILA president Joe Ryan. Thus, the 1934 West Coast
Longshore Strike began.
Union solidarity and commitment to coast-wide bargaining gained during the early days of
the 1934 West Coast Strike and the support shown through the San Francisco General Strike
gave longshoremen the confidence they needed to turn down the settlement agreed to by Joe
Ryan, President of the ILA, and continue the strike. Except for San Pedro longshoremen,
whose conservative leadership convinced its membership to abide by the agreement, the rest
of the West Coast locals voted in favor of continuing their violent struggle for recognition
and a coast wide agreement more favorable to dockworkers.
The 1934, West Coast Strike was the first truly successful attempt by the ILA to gain
control of the waterfront. It was also the beginning of the end for the conservative faction
within the International to maintain control of the West Coast longshoremen. On October 12,
1934 a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) arbitration ruling awarded the longshoremen
increases in base rates of pay, provisions for penalty cargo rates, the establishment of the
thirty-hour work week, and, most important, joint operation of the hiring hall whereby
dispatchers would be selected by the ILA.
In the coming years, numerous setbacks coupled with the lack of International support for
the 1936 West Coast 98-day maritime strike led many of the West Coast locals to form an
independent "Waterfront Federation." The final break from the ILA came in May during the
1937 Annual Convention of the ILA's Pacific Coast District, when three resolutions were
passed by the membership to leave the AFL to join the newly established Committee of
Industrial Organizations (later known as the CIO).
In August 1937, the CIO issued a new charter to the "International Longshoremen's and
Warehousemen's Union" (ILWU). Then, in June 1938, the National Labor Relations Board voted
in favor of the ILWU as the recognized bargaining agent for the entire Pacific Coast. The
ILWU has remained separate from the ILA since these early jurisdictional, political and
organizational disputes. In 1950, the ILWU would again face political turmoil with a growing
conservatism within the CIO. The longshoremen of the West Coast, along with ten other
"left-wing" unions were expelled from the CIO during the early years of the Cold War. The
fact that the ILWU was the only union to survive this drastic measure by the national
organization attests to the solidarity of its leadership and membership and their continued
commitment to union activism.
The
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union
(
ILWU), Local 13 Records, Part III, documents the
establishment, development, goals, and achievements of unionism on the Pacific Coast through
agreements, arbitration awards, bulletins, convention proceedings, committee records,
contracts, correspondence, legal documents, working papers and audio-tapes. The records
describe in detail labor/management relations, labor conditions on the waterfront, the
sudden effects of mechanization on the longshore labor force, and the day-to-day
administration of this longshore union. The collection is organized in three parts, of which
this is Part III. Part III has been divided into ten major series:
Executive Board and Regular Meetings, Local 13 (1935-1991),
Committee and Council Records (1936-1993),
Arbitration
Awards
(1960-1991),
Longshore, Ship Clerks, and Walking Bosses
Caucus
(1969-1993),
Subject Files (1934-1998),
General Correspondence Files (1946-1991),
ILWU
Contract Agreements
(1936-1991),
ILWU Legal Case Files
(1946-1991),
ILWU Bulletins and Newsletters (1960-1989),
and
Financial Records (1967-1993).
Series I,
Executive Board and Regular Meetings, Local 13,
continues the series of the same name in Parts I and II, and as such consists predominately
of minutes for meetings of the Executive Board and Regular meetings of the membership. The
files also contain minutes of Stop Work Meetings of Local 13's membership. The minutes are
arranged chronologically.
Series II,
Committee and Council Records, contains attendance
records, correspondence, membership lists, minutes, notes, reports and working papers for
the many committees created to administratively run ILWU activities. Continuations of
committee records found in Parts I & II are included in this series. The files for the
three Labor Relations committees (Area, Coast and Joint) are filed alphabetically, rather
than together as seen in Part I. Labor relations files for the period 1970-1978 were
included in the papers of Rudy Rubio. Trial Committee records were donated by Tony Salcido.
Materials are arranged alphabetically by committee.
Series III,
Arbitration Awards, consists of documents regarding
union and employer complaints, conflicts and labor issues on the waterfront. Materials are
arranged alphabetically by arbitration area.
Series IV,
Longshore, Ship Clerks, and Walking Bosses Caucus,
continues to document the caucus proceedings for the bi-annual meetings of the LSCWBC. Part
I ended in 1965, Part II adds an additional two years of proceeding typescripts to the
collection (April 1965-April 1967), and Part III adds further summarized minutes and
committee reports (1971-1973; 1991). There are volumes missing as was the case in Parts I
and II. Materials are arranged alphabetically.
Series V,
Subject Files, consist of booklets, brochures,
constitutional amendments, convention packets, correspondence, newspaper clippings,
newsletters, pamphlets, policy statements, proposals, union reports
,
working papers and related documents covering a wide variety of topics. Of particular
significance are convention packets and working papers of Lou Loveridge for the biennial
convention of the ILWU for the period of 1965-1971, the meeting minutes of the International
Executive Board for the period of 1974-1980, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA)
Bulletin 1983-1985 and the correspondence files of striking union
locals. The series also contains a twenty-five percent (25%) sampling of conditional penalty
reports, employer complaints, jurisdictional dispute report, union complaints and visitor
registration slips. Files are arranged in alphabetical order and chronological within each
subject area.
Series VI,
General Correspondence Files, is a small series of
ten (10) file folders contains those correspondence files saved by ILWU, Local 13. The files
are arranged chronologically.
Series VII,
ILWU Contract Agreements, contains agreements,
correspondence, notes and working papers which document contract negotiations between the
ILWU and the many waterfront employers hiring longshoremen and warehousemen. Of particular
significance are the agreements with Crescent Warehouse Company, Ltd.; Koppel Bulk Terminal;
M.G.R.S. Corporation, Catalina and the National Lines Bureau, Inc. The series also contains
the basic West Coast agreements with the Pacific Maritime Association (formerly the
Waterfront Employers Association) and the general commercial warehouse, gearmen and sweepers
agreements. The files are arranged alphabetically.
Series VIII,
ILWU Legal Case Files, contains cases brought
before the District Court, Superior Court and Court of Appeals, the National Labor Relations
Board, and the District Court for the District of Hawaii. The series includes incomplete
legal files of correspondence, documents filed in court, and court notices, including
petitions and notification correspondence. Other unions represented among the legal papers
include the, International Association of Machinists, the Marine Clerks Association, and the
Office and Professional Employees, Local 30. Cases are arranged alphabetically.
Series IX,
ILWU Bulletins and Newsletters, contains the ILWU,
Local 13
Bulletin for the period 1960-1972. Of particular
importance are the
Strike Bulletins put out during the
1971-1972 strike. Other ILWU publications represented in this small series include the
Warehouse News, published by the ILWU Warehousemen's Local 26
(1986-1990) and the
Washington Report, published by the ILWU,
Washington office (1962-1979). Materials are arranged alphabetically by publication
title.
Series X,
Financial Records, consists of financial statements
from the Coast Pro-Rata Committee regarding Local 13 accounts as well as statements from the
International and from Local 13. Materials are arranged alphabetically.
Series I: Executive Board and Regular Meetings, Local 13, 1935-1991
Series II: Committee and Council Records, 1936-1993
Series III: Arbitration Awards, 1960-1991
Series IV: Longshore, Ship Clerks, and Walking Bosses Caucus, 1969-1993
Series V: Subject Files, 1934-1998
Series VI: General Correspondence Files, 1946-1991
Series VII: ILWU Contract Agreements, 1936-1991
Series VIII: ILWU Legal Case Files, 1946-1991
Series IX: ILWU Bulletins and Newsletters, 1960-1989
Series X: Financial Records, 1967-1993
Related Material
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, Local 13, 1998
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Robert G. Marshall, Tony Salcido, April Feldman, 2007
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