1934 was the first time a union attempted to organize dockworkers coast-wide. It was intended to prevent shippers from shifting their operations from port to port to thwart union organizing
drives.

Thereafter, a government mediator imposed a settlement that included a coast-wide agreement, a 30-hour week, safety improvements and increased pay. The agreement also provided for a union
hiring hall, which replaced the “shape up”—immortalized in Elia Kazan’s classic film On the Waterfront—in which workers lined up outside the dock to wait for company assignments.

Today, longshoremen are an important segment of maritime commerce. In 2002, approximately 7 million containers arrived at U.S seaports, carrying more than 95 percent of the nation’s non-North American trade by weight and 75 percent by value.

The Department of Labor states employment within this industry is expected to decline through 2014. Although cargo traffic is expected to grow faster than in the past, employment will not keep pace because of technological advances.

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1. So you’re a Longshoremen . . .
2. It's good now ... will it be good later
3. Is my pension seaworthy?
4. Where do I go to find out about my pension?
5. Contact info for Longshoremen