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Depression
and War
The New Deal
Wagner Act
Communist Infiltration
Pacific Coast Split
Ryan was
elected International president in 1927.
Under his leadership, the ILA
weathered more than its fair share of ups
and downs.
During the Great Depression, the ILA
nearly drowned as masses of unemployed
workers flooded the market with cheap labor
and company unions flourished.
Then, encouraged by passage of New
Deal legislation limiting the
use of injunctions to prevent strikes and
picketing (Norris-LaGuardia Act) and
guaranteeing the rights of workers to vote
for their own representation (Wagner
Act of 1935), the union
immediately began reorganizing and
reclaiming lost ports.
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"Following
the war, the ILA was at its peak,
with wages and membership up." |
Through tireless
efforts, Ryan and the union's regional and
local leaders regained much of the lost
ground, but often at the cost of diminished
centralization.
Nonetheless, membership again soared,
increasing as much as six-fold in as many
years in some districts.
But the process of rebuilding was not
without hurdles, and significantly,
Communist infiltration of the ILA's
Pacific Coast District lead to the
unsuccessful 98-day Maritime Strike and
consequent departure of Pacific coast
longshoremen from the ILA.
The spirit of rebirth
continued as World War II created a
commercial boom.
Following the war, the ILA was at its
peak, with wages and membership up. Ryan was elected "Lifetime President," an honorary title
reflecting his stature and prominence in the
union. Unfortunately for Ryan and the ILA, the union's toughest
battle loomed in the near future.
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