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Guide to the Tony Salcido International
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU), Local 13 Collection, 1919-1992
URB/ILWU-TS
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Collection Title: Tony Salcido International
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU), Local 13 Collection
Dates: 1919-1992
Identification: URB/ILWU-TS
Creator:
Salcido, Tony, 1929-
Physical Description: 15.56 linear feet
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Urban Archives
Abstract: Tony Salcido was a longshoreman in Los
Angeles for 42 years. He was an active member of the International Longshore and
Warehouse Union, Local 13 throughout that time. The collection documents his long and
significant career as a dock worker, union member and leader of the ILWU, Local 13. It
consists of articles, booklets, correspondence, financial statements, manuals, minutes
of meetings, reports and typescripts.
Tony Salcido was born on May 20, 1929 in Wilmington, California. His parents, Cristobal
"Chu-Chu" and Sofia Salcido, had a total of fourteen children of which he was
the seventh.
Salcido’s father, Cristobal, was well known and respected on the waterfront. He was a
member of the International Longshoremen's Association local in Los Angeles from
its beginnings in 1934 until 1937, and a charter member of the ILWU, Local 13 from 1938,
when the West Coast Union broke away from the ILA. Cristobal continued to be an active
dockworker until 1956 when he retired. "Chu-Chu” Salcido was one of Local 13's
legendary longshoremen and the head of a renowned family of ILWU activists. A lumber
handler in the early days and a 1934 strike participant, Chu-Chu was known as a stalwart
unionist.
In June of 1947, Salcido joined the United States Army and served for a year and a half.
He was discharged as a Staff Sergeant. At this time, Salcido's brother Mike was a
dispatcher on the waterfront. When the need for more men presented itself he called Tony
and offered him part time work on the docks. Salcido, disillusioned by his junior
college basketball coach, decided to pursue extended casual work on the waterfront in
Wilmington instead continuing his education.
In August of 1949, Tony Salcido became a Casual Longshoreman (I.D. man). Salcido became
a full union member upon being elevated to "A" registration status on December
5, 1951. By 1955, there were six Salcido brothers working as longshoremen: Mike, Cristy,
Frankie, Victor, Ned, and Tony.
Salcido's first five years on the waterfront were spent working in the ship holds,
loading and unloading bulk cargo. Then he joined different ship "gangs" as a
winch driver. In 1965, Salcido was selected as a "supplementary foreman." In
1966, he was selected by the Banning Stevedoring Co. to work steady for them rather than
working out of the Dispatch Hall, which allowed him to transfer into ILWU, Local 94, the
foreman's union. Salcido did not enjoy being foreman but the local’s secretary and
treasurer, Roy Brastead, talked him into remaining for a couple of years. By 1968, he
had enough and returned to Local 13 and his position as a winch operator.
In 1972, Salcido checked into the Supplementary Crane Board in the Dispatch Hall and
began to learn how to drive cranes by asking drivers to show him how to operate the
various models. In 1974, Salcido gained admission into the Crane Operators Training
Program. Salcido primarily worked on the docks as a crane operator from 1975 until he
retired in 1994.
In 1973, Salcido got more involved in local and international affairs. That year, he ran
and was elected to the ILWU, Local 13's Executive Board. In 1974, Salcido ran and
was elected as a Caucus and Convention delegate and ran for both positions every year
until 1991 when he "…decided to let the new breed [of longshoremen] run their own
business." Salcido was also elected to various committees throughout his career
including positions on the District Council, Chairman of the Stewards Council and the
Registration Advisory Committee.
Salcido ran against Joaquin Hernandez for Secretary and Treasurer in 1977 and was
elected to the post for a one-year term. He chose not to run again in 1978 due to the
amount of time the position demanded. In notes provided by Salcido for this finding aid,
he reflects, "The reason I ran for the job was to remove Hernandez from office as I
thought he was doing a lousy job, was incompetent, and had an employer mentality. That
year 1978 was a contract year, thus I had the job of running the union while the
President was away …”
In 1981, Salcido was elected to the International Executive Board and served in that
capacity until 1988. In October 1987 he underwent back surgery due to a work injury.
This resulted in his immobilization for approximately eight months. The accident
restricted his involvement as a union leader. Since the success of his recovery was
uncertain, in 1988 he decided not to run for the Board again.
Tony Salcido retired in November of 1994 at the age of 65. At the time of this writing,
Salcido remains active in the union by attending the ILWU Pacific Coast Pensioners'
Association Convention every year and regular membership meetings at the Union Hall in
Wilmington; however, he has always maintained an excused absence for family
vacations.
This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
International Longshore and
Warehouse Union -- Trials, litigation, etc.
International
Longshoremen's Association
International
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union. Local 13 (Wilmington, Los Angeles,
Calif.)
Pacific Maritime
Association
Pacific Maritime
Association -- Trials, litigation, etc.
United States. National
Labor Relations Board.
Ephemera
Paper records
Photographic material
Los Angeles
(Calif.)
Arian, David
Barreras, Eddie -- Trials,
litigation, etc.
Bates, Forest -- Trials,
litigation, etc.
Bridges, Harry,
1901-1990
Golden, Deborah Taylor --
Trials, litigation, etc.
Shibley, George
Collective bargaining --
Stevedores
Discrimination in employment
Industrial efficiency
Industrial safety
Labor unions
Stevedores
Tony Salcido, Gary Petiz; 1997
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.
The collection is open for research use.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Series I: ILWU, International Executive Board, 1919-1991
Series II: ILWU, Local 13, 1942-1992
Series III: Committee and Council Records, 1951-1991
Series IV: ILWU Conventions, 1971-1991
Series V: ILWU Caucuses, 1974-1992
Series VI: Arbitration Awards, 1940-1991
Series VII: Legal issues, 1926-1991
Series VIII: Agreements and Contracts, 1938-1991
Series IX: Subject Files, 1929-1992
Series X: Union History, 1946-2009
Series XI: Non-Manuscript Material, 1962-1996
The Tony Salcido International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 13 Collection
consists of booklets, correspondence, financial statements, manuals, minutes of
meetings, and reports which primarily document his long and significant career as a dock
worker, union member and leader of the ILWU, Local 13. Salcido has also collected many
documents of historical significance from friends. Other materials include ballots,
brochures, buttons, cards, cartoons, photographs, pins, and a series of publications.
The collection has been divided into eleven series: ILWU, International Executive Board
(1919-1991), ILWU, Local 13 (1942-1992), Committee and Council Records (1951-1991), ILWU
Conventions (1971-1991), ILWU Caucuses (1974-1992), Arbitration Awards (1940-1991),
Legal Issues (1926-1991), Agreements and Contracts (1938-1991), Subject Files
(1929-1992), Union History (1946-2009), and Non-Manuscript Material (1962-1996).
Series I, ILWU, International Executive Board, contains typed minutes of the
International Executive Board, which Tony Salcido attended as an officer representing
ILWU, Local 13. Files also contain minute attachments and records specifically related
to Coast wide issues. These include agreements, constitution booklets, correspondence,
election campaign records, financial statements, and memoranda. Of particular interest
are files documenting the issues of "Blue Book" Unionism, Fighting Fund
Assessment, ILA and ILWU Mutual Aid Agreement, Presidential Elections for 1991, and
Staff Pension Trust. Files are arranged alphabetically by title and chronologically
within each section.
Series II, ILWU, Local 13, contains files specifically related to the activities of
ILWU, Local 13 of which Tony Salcido was a member beginning in 1949. Records include
ballots, bulletins, correspondence, financial statements, minutes, motions and actions,
reports, rules, regulations and related administrative documents. Important issues
documented in this series include dispatch rules, local election campaigns, regular
member meetings and union finances. The files are arranged alphabetically by
subject.
Series III, Committee and Council Records, includes records created during
Salcido's service on several committees and councils during his career as a
longshoreman on the Los Angeles waterfront. Committees and councils represented in the
records include: CLRC, Coast Pro Rata, Grievance, PMA-LLRC, Joint LRC, Registration,
Stewards Council and Trial Committee. Files include agreements, appeals, arbitration
guidelines, bulletins, committee minutes, complaint reports, correspondence, dispatch
rules, financial statements, training manuals, transcripts and related documentation.
Files are arranged alphabetically by name of committee or council.
Series IV, ILWU Conventions, includes materials Salcido acquired when he attended many
of the annual conventions of the ILWU as a delegate or member of Local 13's
executive board. Files found in this series include agendas, correspondence, delegate
credentials and rosters, financial reports, minutes and proceedings, news releases,
policy statements, remarks of union officers, reports, and resolutions. Files are
arranged chronologically by year of convention.
Series V, ILWU Caucuses, consists of materials created while Salcido was a member of the
Divisional Caucuses of the Longshoremen's and Walking bosses Caucus, and the Local
Caucuses of ILWU, Local 13. The series has been divided into two sub-series,
accordingly. Salcido was a member of both caucuses during his more than forty years
working on the waterfront. Files include agendas, amendments, cartoons, correspondence,
internal memoranda, job duties, minutes, newspaper articles, personal notes, reports,
resolutions, statistics and voting records. Files are arranged chronologically by caucus
year.
Series VI, Arbitration Awards, contains awards and decision documentation on such issues
as dispatch disputes, health and safety issues, jurisdictional disputes, registration
and de-registration, strikes and training. The files are arranged alphabetically.
Series VII, Legal issues, contains files from legal cases that cover a wide range of
disputes between the union and management as well as between individual workers and the
union itself. Cases that could not be resolved internally were heard before the National
Labor Relations Board, United States District Court or the Court of Appeals. Records
include briefs, consent decrees, correspondence, court orders, judgments, laws and
procedures, legal proceedings, memoranda of understanding, motions, and related reports
by Local 13's lawyer George Shibley. Of particular importance are cases dealing
with attorney fees, de-registration, lost wages, race and sex discrimination, promotion,
and seniority. Files are arranged alphabetically by plaintiff or subject.
Series VIII, Agreements and Contracts, contains addendums, agendas, agreement booklets,
amendments, brochures, contract document booklets, correspondence, job descriptions,
listings and rates, memoranda, minutes, newsletters, pay stubs, pension fund
information, proposals, and reports. Files are arranged alphabetically.
Series IX, Subject Files, includes documentation of Crane Operation, the ILWU Oral
History Project, the Longshoremen’s Memorial Association, the Pacific Coast Marine
safety code, the PMA, employee benefits, pensions, registration, safety and health
issues. This series contains agendas, articles, booklets, bulletins, calendars,
cartoons, correspondence, flyers, legislation, logs, manuals, minutes, newsletters,
notes, pamphlets, photographs, proposals reports, and workbooks. Files are arranged
alphabetically.
Series X, Union History, contains book excerpts, dissertations, essays, publications,
and newspaper clippings, which focus on union history. Topics in these files include
leadership, longshore industry, Los Angeles labor movement, the strike of 1934, West
Coast longshore industry and worldwide industrial workers. Files are arranged
alphabetically.
Series XI, Non-Manuscript Material, contains campaign buttons, membership cards,
pro-union buttons, delegate pins, convention name tags, a “red plug” that was used for
jobs out of the Dispatch Hall, membership books and other related memorabilia. The items
are arranged in alphabetical order by subject and then chronologically within each
section where applicable.