International Longshoremen’s Association - Business in United States of America

Identification: Labor union representing those who load and unload ships’ cargoes
Date: Founded in 1892
Significance: The work of longshoremen—loading and off-loading ships—plays a vital role in moving goods into the marketplace. The International Longshoremen’s Association has helped these workers attain better pay and working conditions.
Daniel Keefe, a tugboat worker from Chicago, formed the first local (chapter) of the Association of Lumber Handlers in 1877. Facing hostility from Chicago industrialists, he worked to improve working conditions and wages for dock workers. Membership in the local grew, and other midwestern locals were organized. In 1892, delegates from eleven ports met in Detroit, adopted the bylaws of the Chicago local, and took the name National Longshoremen’s Association of the United States. Because of increasing Canadian membership, the name was changed in 1895 to International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), and that year the union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). At the end of the century, the ILA had approximately fifty thousand members, and by 1905, membership had doubled. In 1911, there were more than 307 locals, and more were forming at ports on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts. The ILA actively recruited members and formed locals in the Port of New York City, the largest in the country by cargo handled and number of longshoremen.
As the union grew, power shifted from the Midwest to the Port of New York. Joseph Ryan from New York Local 791 became ILA president. Under Ryan’s presidency, the union continued to grow but also experienced major problems. In 1934,West Coast longshoremen revolted against the ILA and formed a new union. Consequently, the ILA lost a significant number of members, as well as its power on the West Coast.