The 70 or so dockworkers who have gone to their jobs over the years but never came home were memorialized during the longshore union’s annual tribute ceremony on Wednesday, May 15.
The annual San Pedro ceremony pays tribute to those who have died on the job at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as Dickie Parker and John Knudsen, who were killed during clashes with police in Wilmington during the 1934 West Coast strike — which established the International Longshore and Warehouse Union 90 years ago.
“We wanted to honor all those who went to work one day and never came home,” said Greg Mitre, president of the ILWU Pensioners, who headed up the program along Harbor Boulevard, where a bust of union founder Harry Bridges stands.
This year’s event, which drew a few hundred participants, also featured an outdoor lunch afterward in tribute to the union’s 90th anniversary.
Pointing across the street, Mitre said that in those early days, men would stay in hotels hoping to get a job on the docks, even though the pay was low and the work was hard.
A man standing on a wooden box, Mitre said, would hand out the hiring “chits” to those lucky enough to get one.
In the early days, men would work in hatches, sometimes for many hours — until a job was done. It was a far cry from today’s hard-fought union regulations that ended such practices and the rock-bottom pay.
Bobby Olvera, ILWU International vice president and a fifth-generation longshore worker who now also sits on the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, said no one in those early years thought the union would succeeed. And while the struggle is never over, several speakers remarked, the union won a strong contract in 2023.
The job today is safer, but still dangerous in an environment where things can go wrong amid large machinery and cargo containers being hoisted overhead.
In 2019, for example, union mechanic Jose Santoyo was killed at Pier 300 in the Port of Los Angeles — just hours before that year’s annual First Blood ceremony.
The Santoyo family has regularly attended the ceremonies ever since and they were there again on Wednesday.
For many, the work is a proud family tradition.
“I hope and I pray that as a third-generation longshoreman,” said Gary Herrera, president of ILWU Local 13, “I’m making my dad and grandfather proud.”
Because of the long line of union families still in town, the list is always personal to someone, several speakers said.
“Everybody has a connection to someone on this list,” Mitre said.
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. President of Local 13 Gary Herrera gives remarks at the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. Master of Ceremony Greg Mitre speaks to the gathered crowd. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. The statue of Harry Bridges adored in a lei. Bridges was an Australian-born American labour leader, president of the San Francisco based International Longshoremens and Warehousemens Union (ILWU) from 1937 to 1977. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. Eric Rigler takes a break from playing the bagpipes at the beginning of the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. Los Angeles City Councilman, Tim McOsker gives remarks at the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. Eric Rigler plays the bagpipes at the beginning of the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. President of Local 13 Gary Herrera gives remarks at the event. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
The ILWU honored those who were killed on the job on May 15th, 2024. This commemorated the 90 year anniversary of the birth of the ILWU, on May 15th, 1934. Wednesdays event took place in downtown San Pedro on the waterfront. Norman Tuck during the tolling of the bell as the names of those killed were read. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)
And for the union, the annual tribute is also a reminder of the battles yet to be waged. Terminal automation, which could threaten job numbers in the future, is one of the encroaching challenges.
“The fight from 1934 continues for us into 2024,” Herrera said. “This isn’t like any other job.”
After the speeches, the main event began, with each name on the plaque being read, followed by the ringing of a bell — amid not a few tears in the audience.
When it was over, Mitre said simply, “May they all rest in peace.”
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