NORTH BERGEN, NJ – (November 1, 2026) The Thirteenth Annual International Longshoremen’s Association Civil, Human & Women’s Rights Committee Award Dinner will honor four Industry leaders at a dinner scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2026, at the Envue Autograph Collection Hotel in Weehawken, New Jersey. A reception begins at 6 pm with the dinner and awards program beginning at 7:30 pm.
Herbert Hall, Sr, an International Vice President and Business Agent with ILA Local 1233 in Newark serves as Chairman of the ILA’s Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Committee. Rodney Owens, from ILA Local 1, serves as Vice Chairman.
Kenneth Riley will be honored with the “Labor Leader Award. A 50-year veteran of the ILA, Riley is president of ILA Local 1422 in the Port of Charleston and an International Vice President. He also serves as East Coast Zone Coordinator of the worldwide International Dockworkers Council. Riley has spearheaded efforts to have the International Longshoremen’s Association partner with communities in the West African nation of Liberia, offering humanitarian aid and strengthening U.S. – Liberia ties while promoting American values in Africa. Riley enjoys a rich ILA history and is the second of three generations in his family to be an ILA member from the Port of Charleston, South Carolina.
Gregory Washington will receive the “Martin Luther King, Jr. Award”. Washington joined the ILA and Local 1426 in 1989. He rose in the ranks of his local, culminating in his election as Vice President. Washington holds an appointed position as International Representative for the iLA and a District Vice President and Executive Board member for the ILA’s South Atlantic and Gulf Coast District. In December of 2020, Washington was appointed by former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to serve as seven-year term on the North Carolina State Ports Authority.
The “William Bernard Dudley Humanitarian Award” will be presented to Courtney Robinson. Robinson is Deputy Managing Director of APM Terminals Elizabeth, and a maritime leader with more than 30 years of experience in port operations, labor relations and strategic infrastructure development.
Frances Dampier will receive the prestigious “Women’s Rights Award. A veteran of more than four decades with the ILA and Local 1359-1860, she made history in 2023 with her election as President of her ILA Local. She began her ILA career in the mid-1980s, serving as Executive Administrative Assistant and worked for the Benefit Fund as an Administrative Assistant.
In 2006, while continuing to work full-time in the office, she began working part-time on the docks as a porter and forklift driver. She transitioned to full-time dock work in 2017.
The Envue Autograph Collection Hotel will host the November 7th Annual ILA Civil, Human and Women’s Right’s Rights Dinner and is located at 550 Avenue at Port Imperial, Weehawken, NJ 07086.
For dinner information contact Billie Jean Easley at [email protected] or call cell 908-296-6598.
