The Waterfront Worker Newsletter, 1932-1936
The Waterfront Worker was a newsletter published by an anonymous group of rank and file longshoremen from 1932-1936 which galvanized support for the new militant unionism on the waterfront.
Visit The Waterfront Worker digital archive.
Distributed by hand to workers on the docks and hidden on ships to reach people throughout West Coast ports, the paper served a vital role in organizing longshoremen in the months before the 1934 strike. During the strike, it helped strike organizers disseminate information on strike issues and key events, helping inform workers on unionization efforts. With its frank language and simple line drawings, the paper looked inelegant, but its message was clear: the time was ripe for organizing union representation on the waterfront.
This rare newsletter was digitized in 2008 and is available online in the ILWU Archives.