Stevedore,
dockworker,
docker,
dock labourer,
wharfie and
longshoreman can have various
waterfrontA dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
-related meanings concerning loading and unloading
shipSince the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s, according to place and country.
The word
stevedore originated in
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
or
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and entered the
English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
through its use by
sailorA sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
s. It started as a phonetic spelling of
estivador (
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) or
estibador (
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
), meaning
a man who stuffs, here in the sense of
a man who loads ships, which was the original meaning of
stevedore; compare
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
stīpāre meaning
to stuff, as in
to fill with stuffing. In the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, men who load and unload ships are usually called dockers, while in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
the term longshoreman, derived from
man-along-the-shore, is used. (Before extensive use of container ships and shore-based handling machinery in the U.S.,
longshoremen referred exclusively to the dockworkers, while
stevedores, in a separate
trade unionA trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, worked on the ships, operating ship's
craneA crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
s and moving cargo.) In Canada, the term
stevedore has also been used, for example, in the name of the Western Stevedoring Company, Ltd., based in
VancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, B.C. in the 1950s.
Stevedore has also become common as an appellation for a person who is over-muscular or foulmouthed.
Loading and unloading ships
Loading and unloading ships requires knowledge of the operation of loading equipment, the proper techniques for lifting and stowing
cargoCargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
, and correct handling of hazardous materials. In addition, workers must be physically strong and be able to follow orders.
In earlier days before the advent of
containerisationContainerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
, men who loaded and unloaded ships had to tie down cargoes with rope. A type of
stopper knotThe term stopper knot has three distinct meanings in the context of knotting and cordage.-At the end of a line:A stopper knot is tied at the end of a rope to prevent the end from unraveling, slipping through another knot, or passing back through a hole, block, or belay/rappel device...
is called the stevedore knot. The methods of securely tying up parcels of goods is called
stevedore lashing or
stevedore knotting. While loading a
general cargoIn shipping, break bulk cargo or general cargo is a term that covers a great variety of goods that must be loaded individually, and not in intermodal containers nor in bulk as with oil or grain. Ships that carry this sort of cargo are often called general cargo ships...
vessel, they use
dunnageDunnage is a term with a variety or related meanings. Typically dunnage is inexpensive or waste material used to protect and load securing cargo during transportation...
, which are pieces of wood (or nowadays sometimes strong inflatable
dunnage bagDunnage Bags, also known as airbags, were introduced some 40 years ago as a convenient, fast and cost effective alternative to secure and stabilize cargo in ISO sea-containers, closed railcars, trucks and vessels. The use of dunnage bags can have a positive impact on road safety...
s) set down to keep the cargo out of any water that might be lying in the hold or are placed as shims between cargo
crateA crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used to transport large, heavy or awkward items. A crate has a self-supporting structure, with or without sheathing. For a wooden container to be a crate, all six of its sides must be put in place to result in the rated strength...
s for
load securingthumb|Cargo damage because of improperly secured cargoLoad securing, also known as cargo securing, is the securing of cargo for transportation. According to the European Commission Transportation Department “it has been estimated that up to 25% of accidents involving trucks can be attributable to...
.
Today, the vast majority of non-
bulk cargoBulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. This cargo is usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or as a mass of relatively small solids , into a bulk carrier ship's hold, railroad car, or tanker truck/trailer/semi-trailer body...
is transported in
Intermodal containerAn intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...
s. The containers arrive at a
portA port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
by
truckA truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
,
railRail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
or another ship and are stacked in the port's storage area. When the ship that will be transporting them arrives, the containers that it is offloading are unloaded by a crane. The containers either leave the port by truck or rail or are put in the storage area until they are put on another ship. Once the ship is offloaded, the containers it is leaving with are brought to the
dockA dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
by truck. A crane lifts the containers from the trucks into the ship. As the containers pile up in the ship, the workers connect them to the ship and to each other. The jobs involved include the crane operators, the workers who connect the containers to the ship and each other, the truck drivers that transport the containers from the dock and storage area, the workers who track the containers in the storage area as they are loaded and unloaded, as well as various supervisors. Those workers at the port who handle and move the containers are likely to be considered stevedores or longshoremen.
Because they work outdoors in all types of weather, these workers adopted a type of
capA cap is a form of headgear. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head and have no brim or only a visor. They are typically designed for warmth and, when including a visor, blocking sunlight from the eyes...
that has a snug fit, is warm, and is easily put away in a pocket. These are a type of
beanieA beanie is a head-hugging brimless cap with or without a visor that was once popular among school boys.-Description:In the United States of America, beanies are made by triangular sections of cloth joined by a button at the crown and seamed together around the sides.They can also be made from...
or watch cap called variously
stevedore's cap or
stevedore's hat.
Before containerization, freight was often handled with a
longshoreman’s hookA Longshoreman's hook, also known as a box hook, cargo hook, loading hook, or docker's hook is a tool historically used by longshoremen . The tool consists of a round wooden handle with a strong metal hook about 8" long projecting at a right angle from the center of the handle...
, a tool which became emblematic of the profession (Mostly on the west coast of the United States and Canada).
Traditionally, stevedores would have no fixed job and turn up at the docks in the morning hoping to find someone willing to employ them for the day.
LondonThe Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. Once the largest port in the world, it is currently the United Kingdom's second largest port, after Grimsby & Immingham...
dockers called this practice "standing on the stones", while in the United States it was referred to as
Shaping. In Britain, due to changes in employment laws, such jobs have either become permanent or have been converted to
temporary jobsTemporary work or temporary employment refers to a situation where the employee is expected to leave the employer within a certain period of time. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "freelance", or "part-time"; or the word may be shortened...
.
Dock workers have been a prominent part of the modern labor movement.
Australia
In
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, stevedores or dockers were historically referred to as wharf labourers or waterside workers, and were colloquially called "wharfies". The
Maritime Union of AustraliaThe Maritime Union of Australia covers waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. As of 2011 the union has about 13,000 members. It is an affiliate of the International Transport Workers' Federation and represents the...
has coverage of these workers, and fought a substantial industrial battle in the
1998 Australian waterfront disputeThe Australian waterfront dispute of 1998 was a watershed event in Australian Industrial Relations history, in which the Patrick Corporation undertook a restructuring of their operations for the purpose of increasing the productivity of their workforce...
to prevent the contracting out of work to non-union contractors. The term "Docker" is in modern colloquial use, as evidenced by the port-based
Fremantle Football ClubThe Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
's official nickname of the "Freo Dockers" although the term "wharfie" is still more commonly used in other states.
New Zealand
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
usage is highly similar to the Australian version; "waterside workers" are also known as "wharfies." The
1951 New Zealand waterfront disputeThe 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute was the largest and most widespread industrial dispute in New Zealand history. During the time, up to twenty thousand workers went on strike in support of waterfront workers protesting financial hardships and working conditions. Thousands more refused to...
, involving New Zealand stevedores, was the largest and most bitter industrial dispute in the country's history.
United States
In usual present-day
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
waterfront word usage, a stevedore is a man or a
companyA company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
who manages the operation of loading or unloading a ship. A stevedore typically owns equipment used in the loading or discharge operation and hires longshoremen who load and unload
cargoCargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
under the direction of a stevedore superintendent.This type of work along the East Coast water front was characteristic for such port like New York, Boston, or Philadelphia. However, the port of Baltimore, unlike the ports of
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
or
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, which were dominated by Irish and German immigrants, hired mostly stevedores and longshoremen who were overwhelmingly Polish. In the 1930s, about eighty percent of the Baltimore's longshoremen were Polish or of Polish descent. 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 of its other East coast counterparts. In fact, the New York Anti-Crime Commission and the Waterfront Commission of New York looked upon the Baltimore system as the ideal one for all ports. The hiring of longshoremen in Baltimore by the gang system dates back to 1913, when the ILA was first formed.
The Polish longshoremen began setting up the system by selecting the most skilled men to lead them. This newly formed gang would usually work for the same company, which would give the priority to the gang. During the times where there was no work within the particular company, the gang would work elsewhere, or even divide to aid other groups in their work, which would speed up the work and would make it more efficient In an environment as dangerous as a busy waterfront, 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. At the beginning of the Second World War Polish predominance in the Port of Baltimore would significantly diminish as many Poles left to fight the war.
It is common but inaccurate to use the terms “stevedore” and “longshoreman” interchangeably. However, even the U.S. Congress has done so in the Ship Mortgage Act, 46 app. U.S.C. section 31301(5)(C) which designates both "crew wages" and "stevedore wages" as preferred maritime liens. The intent of the statute was to give the wages of the seamen and longshoremen the same level of protection. Nevertheless, sometimes the word "stevedore" is still used to mean "man who loads and unloads a ship", as British "docker".
Today, a commercial stevedoring company also may contract with a
terminalA container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example trains or trucks, in which case the terminal is described as a maritime...
owner to manage all terminal operations. Many large
container shipContainer ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...
operators have established in-house stevedoring operations to handle cargo at their own terminals and to provide stevedoring services to other container carriers.
Two
unionsA trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
within the
AFL-CIOThe American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
represent longshoremen in the United States: the
International Longshoremen's AssociationThe International Longshoremen's Association is a labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways...
, which represents longshoremen on the
East CoastThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, on the
Great LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
and connected waterways and along the
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, and the
International Longshore and Warehouse UnionThe International Longshore and Warehouse Union is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii and Alaska, and in British Columbia, Canada. It also represents hotel workers in Hawaii, cannery workers in Alaska, warehouse workers throughout...
, which represents longshoremen along the
West CoastWest Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
, in
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, and, through an affiliate, in
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
United Kingdom
In the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the definition of a stevedore varies from port to port. In some ports, only the highly skilled master of a loading gang is referred to as a "stevedore". "Docker" is the usual general term used in the UK for a man who loads or unloads ships and performs various other jobs required at a sea port.
19th century
In
Two Years Before the MastTwo Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the same name was released in 1946.- Background :...
the author describes the steeving of a merchant sailing ship. This was the process of taking a mostly-full hold and cramming in more material. In this case, the hold was filled with hides from the California
hide tradeThe California hide trade was a system of trade during the early 19th century in Alta California, present day California, United States.The circuit would begin with a Clipper sailing ship leaving an East Coast port, often Boston or New York City, loaded with manufactured goods. The ship would then...
up to four feet below the deckhead (equivalent of 'ceiling'). "Books" composed of 25-50 cattle skins folded into a bundle were prepared, and a small opening created in the middle of one of the existing stacks. Then the book was shoved in by use of a pair of thick strong pieces of wood called steeves. The steeves had one end shaped as a wedge which was placed into the middle of a book to shove it into the stack. The other ends were pushed on by means of
block and tackleA block and tackle is a system of two or more pulleys with a rope or cable threaded between them, usually used to lift or pull heavy loads.The pulleys are assembled together to form blocks so that one is fixed and one moves with the load...
attached to the hull and overhead beams and hauled on by sailors.
Stevedores
Former stevedores and longshoremen include:
- Frithjof Bergmann
Frithjof Bergmann is a Professor Emeritus of philosophy at the University of Michigan, where he regularly taught classes on existentialism and continental philosophy.-Background:...
- philosopher
- Mestre Bimba
Manuel dos Reis Machado, commonly called Mestre Bimba , was a mestre of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira.-Early life:Machado is said to have had two birth certificates, dated 1899 and 1900, respectively...
- founder of the Regional style of CapoeiraCapoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
- Ronald Bird
Ronald Ernest Bird, sometimes known as Ronnie, was an English cricketer who played 195 first-class matches in the years after the Second World War. 190 of these were for Worcestershire, while the other five were for MCC...
-
- Jerry Colonna - Movie actor/comedian.*
- Terry Bollea - Better known as professional wrestler Hulk Hogan
- Murray Bookchin
Murray Bookchin was an American libertarian socialist author, orator, and philosopher. A pioneer in the ecology movement, Bookchin was the founder of the social ecology movement within anarchist, libertarian socialist and ecological thought. He was the author of two dozen books on politics,...
- American libertarian socialist, founder of social ecologySocial ecology is a philosophy developed by Murray Bookchin in the 1960s.It holds that present ecological problems are rooted in deep-seated social problems, particularly in dominatory hierarchical political and social systems. These have resulted in an uncritical acceptance of an overly...
- Harry Bridges
Harry Bridges was an Australian-American union leader, in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union , a longshore and warehouse workers' union on the West Coast, Hawaii and Alaska which he helped form and led for over 40 years...
- founder of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)
- James Braddock
James Walter "The Cinderella Man" Braddock was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937....
- heavyweight boxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
champion from 1935 to 1937.
- Jack Dash
Jack Dash was a British communist and trade union leader, famous for his role in London dock strikes.Born in Southwark to a family which was often in poverty, Dash left school at 14 to work as a page boy at a Lyons Corner House...
British Dock Workers Trade Union Leader
- Chief Dan George - Native American
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
actor
- Danny Greene
Daniel "Danny" J. Patrick Greene was an Irish American mobster and associate of Cleveland mobster John Nardi during the gang war for the city's criminal operations during the 1970s. Competing gangsters set off more than 35 bombs, most attached to cars in murder attempts, many successful...
- Irish American Mobster
- David Hall
-Sportsmen:*David Hall , American middle distance runner*David Hall , English professional footballer active in the 1970s*David Hall , Australian horse trainer...
-
- Eric Hoffer
Eric Hoffer was an American social writer. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983...
- author and philosopher
- Brian Jacques
James Brian Jacques was an English author best known for his Redwall series of novels and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series. He also completed two collections of short stories entitled The Ribbajack & Other Curious Yarns and Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.-Biography:Brian Jacques was born...
- author of the RedwallRedwall, by Brian Jacques, is a series of fantasy novels. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels , which first aired in 1999...
book series
- Vladimir Kokkinaki
Vladimir Konstantinovich Kokkinaki was a test pilot in the Soviet Union, setting twenty-two world records and serving as president of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.-Life and career:...
- the most famous test pilot in the Soviet Union
- Mauno Koivisto
Mauno Henrik Koivisto is a Finnish politician who served as the ninth President of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as Prime Minister 1968–1970 and 1979–1982...
- President of FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
from 1982 to 1994
- Artie Lange
Arthur Steven "Artie" Lange, Jr. is an American actor, comedian and radio personality best known for his tenures with the The Howard Stern Show and the comedy sketch series MADtv....
- comedian/radio personality, The Howard Stern Show
- Tom Mann
Tom Mann was a noted British trade unionist. Largely self-educated, Mann became a successful organiser and a popular public speaker in the labour movement.-Early years:...
- British trade unionist and organizer of the London Dock Strike of 1889The London Dock Strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in a victory for the strikers and established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of which became the nationally important Dock, Wharf, Riverside...
- Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
- convicted murderer, worked as a longshoreman from 1954–1956
- Frank McCourt
Francis "Frank" McCourt was an Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, best known as the author of Angela’s Ashes, an award-winning, tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood....
- noted Irish-American author
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick "Pat" Moynihan was an American politician and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the United States Senate for New York in 1976, and was re-elected three times . He declined to run for re-election in 2000...
- sociologist, Ambassador to the United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and to IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
- Bruce Nelson
Joseph Bruce Nelson is a professor of history at Dartmouth College. He is a noted labor historian and scholar of the history of the concepts of race and class in the United States and among Western European immigrants to the U.S....
- labor historian, author of Workers on the Waterfront
- Charles Plymell
Charles Plymell is a poet, novelist, and small press publisher. Plymell has been published widely, collaborated with, and published many poets, writers, and artists, including principals of the Beat Generation....
- poetPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
- James Rogers
James Rogers VC was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Military service:...
-
- Joe Rollino
Joseph "Joe" Rollino was a decorated World War II veteran, weightlifter, and strongman. The son of Italian immigrants, Rollino dubbed himself the world's strongest man in the 1920s, moving with his back during the prime of his career.-Early life and career:Rollino was born and raised in Coney...
- boxer and strongman
- Glenn Theodore Seaborg - 1951 Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
Winner, member of The Manhattan Project
- Hubert Selby, Jr.
Hubert "Cubby" Selby, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His best-known novels are Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream . Both novels were later adapted into films within his lifetime....
- Writer, Last Exit To BrooklynLast Exit to Brooklyn is a 1964 novel by American author Hubert Selby, Jr. The novel has become a cult classic because of its harsh, uncompromising look at lower class Brooklyn in the 1950s and for its brusque, everyman style of prose....
- Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith is the lead singer, lyricist, frontman, and only constant member of the English post-punk band The Fall.-Early life:...
- singer/songwriter of the British band The Fall
- Stan Weir
Stan Weir was an influential blue-collar intellectual, socialist, and labor leader. A rank-and-file worker for most of his life, Weir worked as a seaman in the Merchant Marine during World War II, as an auto worker, longshoreman, truck driver, and painter, before taking a position at the...
- blue-collar intellectual and sociologist, founder of Singlejack Press
- Tobias Winston
Tobias Winston was an England businessman.Winston was born in London, but moved to Crewe in 1845 where he opened various businesses over the next two decades, many of them taking advantage of Crewe's railway connections....
-
- Isaac Woodard
Isaac Woodard, Jr., often written Isaac Woodward, was an African American World War II veteran whose 1946 beating and maiming, hours after being discharged from the United States Army, sparked national outrage and galvanized the civil rights movement in the United States.Still in uniform, Woodard...
- African-American victim of a notorious racist attack
- J. S. Woodsworth
James Shaver Woodsworth was a pioneer in the Canadian social democratic movement. Following more than two decades ministering to the poor and the working class, J. S...
- a founder of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the forerunner of the New Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
of CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Popular media
- In 1949, reporter Malcolm Johnson was awarded a Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for a 24-part investigative series titled Crime on the Waterfront published in the New York SunThe Sun was a New York newspaper that was published from 1833 until 1950. It was considered a serious paper, like the city's two more successful broadsheets, The New York Times and the New York Herald Tribune...
. This material was fictionalized and used as a basis for the influential film, On the WaterfrontOn the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
, starring Marlon BrandoMarlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
as a longshoreman, and the working conditions on the docks figure significantly in the film's plot. Playwright Arthur MillerArthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
was involved in the early stages of the development of the film, and his play A View from the BridgeA View from the Bridge is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller that was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play was unsuccessful and Miller subsequently revised the play to contain two acts; this...
also deals with the troubled life of a longshoreman.
- In the HBO Series The Wire
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
, the Stevedore Union and its members, particularly Frank SobotkaFrancis "Frank" Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Chris Bauer.-Biography:Frank is a respected Polish-American secretary treasurer for the International Brotherhood of Stevedores at the Baltimore docks...
, working in Baltimore figure prominently in the second season's story arc.
- In the song by Jimmy Nail
James Bradford "Jimmy" Nail is an English singer-songwriter, actor, musician, film producer, film score composer and television writer....
, Big River there is the line, "Now all the capstans and the cargo boats and stevedores are gone."
See also
- Battle of Ballantyne Pier
Ballantyne Pier was the site of a docker's strike in Vancouver, BC, in June 1935. It was a federally owned dock built by the National Harbours Board In 1923, and named for the head of the Harbours Board. There were ongoing strikes on the West Coast of North America in the Depression and it led to...
(Canada)
- Dockers' Union (UK) (disambiguation)
- Admiralty law
Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans...
- Dunnage
Dunnage is a term with a variety or related meanings. Typically dunnage is inexpensive or waste material used to protect and load securing cargo during transportation...
- Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union
The Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union was an Australian trade union that covered "mostly work associated with chipping, painting, scrubbing, cleaning, working in every size of tanks, cleaning boilers, docking and undocking vessels, and rigging work"...
- International Longshore and Warehouse Union
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii and Alaska, and in British Columbia, Canada. It also represents hotel workers in Hawaii, cannery workers in Alaska, warehouse workers throughout...
(United States)
- Liverpool Dockers' Strike
The Liverpool Dockers' Strike lasted from 1995 to 1998.Although referred to as a strike it was strictly a dispute because the employers, the MDHC had actually used the opportunity to sack the dockers who were caught up in a separate dispute.The Liverpool dockers refused to cross a picket line set...
(UK)
- Mersey Docks and Harbour Company
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company , formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board , owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England...
- National Union of Dock Labourers
The National Union of Dock Labourers was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It was formed in Glasgow in 1889 but moved its headquarters to Liverpool within a few years and was thereafter most closely associated with Merseyside...
- Scottish Union of Dock Labourers
The Scottish Union of Dock Labourers was a Glasgow-based trade union for waterfront workers. It was formed during the seamen's and dockers' strikes of June-July 1911. It replaced the National Union of Dock Labourers, which had been formed in Glasgow in 1889 but later became unpopular in that port,...
- Weeks Marine
Weeks Marine is an American marine construction and dredging company based in New York City. It was founded by Francis Weeks in 1919 as the Weeks Stevedoring Company....
Further reading
- Arnesen, Eric. Waterfront Workers of New Orleans: Race, Class, and Politics, 1863-1923 (1994) excerpt and text search
- Connolly. Michael C. Seated by the Sea: The Maritime History of Portland, Maine, and Its Irish Longshoremen (University Press of Florida; 2010) 280 pages
- Davis, Colin J. Waterfront Revolts: New York and London Dockworkers, 1946-61 (2003)
- Land, Isaac. "Liberty on the Waterfront: American Maritime Culture in the Age of Revolution," Journal of Social History, Spring 2007, Vol. 40 Issue 3, pp 731–743
- Mello, William J. New York Longshoremen: Class and Power on the Docks (2010)
- Nelson, Bruce. Workers on the Waterfront: Seamen, Longshoremen, and Unionism in the 1930s (1990)
- Parnaby, Andrew. Citizen Docker: Making a New Deal on the Vancouver Waterfront, 1919-1939 (2008)
- Phillips, Jim. "Class and Industrial Relations in Britain: The ‘Long’ Mid-century and the Case of Port Transport, c. 1920–70," Twentieth Century British History, March 2005, Vol. 16 Issue 1, pp 52-73
- Safford, Jeffrey J. "The Pacific Coast Maritime Strike of 1936: Another View," Pacific Historical Review Nov 2008, Vol. 77 Issue 4, pp 585–615
- Vaughan Wilson, Matt. "The 1911 Waterfront Strikes in Glasgow: Trade Unions and Rank-and-File Militancy in the Labour Unrest of 1910-1914," International Review of Social History, Aug 2008, Vol. 53 Issue 2, pp 261–292
- Velasco e Cruz, Maria Cecília. "Puzzling Out Slave Origins in Rio de Janeiro Port Unionism: The 1906 Strike and the Sociedade de Resistência dos Trabalhadores em Trapiche e Café," Hispanic American Historical Review, May 2006, Vol. 86 Issue 2, pp 205–245
External links