On (And Off) the Waterfront

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Its Place in Labor History

Bibliographic Data

ID11213627
AuthorsAndreas Meyris (University of Virginia, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume108
Pages367-377
Publication date2025-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Labor and Working-Class History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0147-5479 • E-ISSN: 1471-6445
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0147547924000267
OpenAlexW4404194107
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited7

Labor historians, particularly in the United States, have given unique attention to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Emerging out of a series of tumultuous strikes on the West Coast during the early Depression years, the ILWU won trend-setting employment contracts, survived Second Red Scare-era persecution despite keeping avowedly leftwing leadership, and maintained its presence on the docks even after containerization dramatically reshaped the longshore industry. This review examines multiple recent works on the ILWU, noting new interventions—both in ILWU history and labor history, more broadly. All three reviewed works offer invaluable insight for how contemporary unions can adapt to technological changes in the workplace, foster internal democracy, and build labor power while fighting for social justice. The review concludes by offering potential avenues for further scholarly research, particularly on the nature of leftwing unionism and labor-generated alternatives to deindustrialization and workforce displacement

Economic geography · Geography · Political science · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Race, History, and American Society