Education

ILA Education/History

2 days ago

Port of NY/NJ

RYAN NOVAK, ILA LOCAL 824, SHARED HIS THOUGHTS WITH US ABOUT BEING A LOYAL AND PROUD MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN’S ASSOCIATION:

“ILA proud since 2001.

This life I’ve built exists because of my union.

Because of the opportunities it gave me.
Because of the men before me who fought for it.
Because of the work, sacrifice, and pride that built it long before I ever stepped onto the pier.
When something has blessed your life the way this has blessed mine, you don’t take it for granted. You show up. Every single day. You give everything you’ve got to protect it, honor it, and leave it stronger than you found it.
I don’t feel entitled to any of it.
I feel indebted to it.
Can I ever give back everything it has given me? Probably not.
But I’ll spend every day trying.
And I’ll make damn sure the ones coming after me understand what this life is really about:
Nothing is handed to you.
Nothing is owed to you.
You earn it.
You respect it.
You protect it.
You get what you give.
Grateful for every opportunity. Proud of every hour. Loyal to the ILA. Always.”

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ILA Education/History

3 days ago

MEMORIAL DAY 2026

On this Memorial Day Weekend, the International Longshoremen’s Association honors and salutes all of our fallen heroes that have perished while serving in the United States armed forces.

**RESPECT**
**GOD BLESS YOU ALL**

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ILA Education/History

4 days ago

NATIONAL MARITIME DAY
May 22

ILA RECOGNIZES NATIONAL MARITIME DAY, HONORING THE MARITIME INDUSTRY AND ITS WORKERS

National Maritime Day is celebrated each year on May 22. On that day in the year 1819, the American steamship SAVANNAH set sail from Savannah, Georgia on the first ever transoceanic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean under steam power.

In 1933, the United States Congress declared May 22 National Maritime Day to commemorate the American steamship Savannah’s voyage from the United States to England.

Remembering our fallen maritime union brothers on this Memorial Day Weekend:
During World War II more than 250,000 members of the American Merchant Marine served their country, with more than 6,700 giving their lives, hundreds being detained as prisoners of war and more than 800 U.S. merchant ships being sunk or damaged.

National Maritime Day acknowledges the vital role the maritime industry plays in the global economy, facilitating international trade and commerce. The ILA has always been at the forefront of advocating for workers’ rights, safety, and fair labor practices in the maritime industry.

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ILA Education/History

4 days ago

We move cargo on the docks from Maine to Texas, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, Eastern Canada and the Bahamas

We are the International Longshoremen’s Association
Established 1892

In photograph, ILA members move cargo before the days of containerization on New York City’s West Side Piers, December 2, 1952.

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ILA Education/History

5 days ago

Chelsea Piers
The Lighthouse
Pier 61
NYC

ILA CHIEF OF STAFF JAMES A. MCNAMARA INDUCTED INTO INTERNATIONAL MARITIME HALL OF FAME

ILA Education/History proudly announces the induction of ILA International Chief of Staff and Director of Public Relations James A. McNamara into the International Maritime Hall of Fame

In a packed ceremony filled with hundreds of guests from the Maritime Industry, ILA International President Harold J. Daggett proudly inducted ILA Chief of Staff James A. McNamara into the International Maritime Hall of Fame on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at The Lighthouse at Pier 61 in New York City.

In a career spanning over 44 years, Jim McNamara has led the ILA’s communications under four ILA International Presidents, Thomas Gleason, John Bowers, Richard Hughes and Harold J. Daggett.

McNamara currently serves as the ILA’s primary spokesperson and also serves the membership as President of ILA Local 512. He has coordinated the ILA Children’s Fund golf outing for 33 years, raising over $20 million for charity. An Iona University graduate with a master’s from Fordham University, he is a veteran member of the IMHOF Executive Board and an “Outstanding Irish-American Labor Leader” honoree by the Irish Echo.

During his emotional speech, Jim McNamara shared the following statement when speaking to the top leaders in the Maritime Industry:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, my family, my friends and my colleagues, God blessed me with an amazing career in the ILA, that’s afforded me a life beyond my wildest dreams. That career has been enriched tonight and made more meaningful with this induction into the International Maritime Hall of Fame.”

James McNamara became the International Longshoremen’s Association Public Relations Director on August 31, 1981.
After a long, distinguished career in that position McNamara was humbled and honored to be named ILA Chief of Staff by International President Harold J. Daggett on May 18, 2021.

Jim McNamara and his wife Alice have been married nearly 50 years and are the proud parents/grandparents to daughter Elizabeth Mueller; Son-in-Law, Daniel Mueller; Grandkids, Gabi, Luke and Lily.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

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ILA Education/History

6 days ago

Port of NY/NJ
Port Houston
April 26, 1956

70 YEARS SINCE THE DAWN OF CONTAINERIZATION; ILA THERE EVERY STEP OF THE WAY AS THEY ENDURE MAJOR CHANGES ON THE WATERFRONT

THE WORLD’S FIRST CONTAINER SHIP INAUGURATION
NEWARK, NJ TO HOUSTON, TX

The World’s First Container Ship Service Inauguration took place on April 26, 1956 via Pan Atlantic Steamship Corporation from Port Newark, NJ to Port Houston, TX

That first successful container ship was the SS Ideal X. This containership was converted from a T2 oil tanker under the initiative of truck driver Malcolm McLean.
Its maiden voyage took five days.
It carried 58 containers, which were all loaded by the International Longshoremen’s Association, and this launched the modern era of global containerized shipping.

This technology would change the way Longshoremen would work on the docks. It would also change the amount of workers that were needed on the waterfront on a daily basis.
Nevertheless, the ILA endured and would go on to become one of the most highly skilled workforces in the world.

MALCOLM MCLEAN’S IDEA BECOMES REALITY:
In 1937, while delivering cotton bales from North Carolina (Lafayette) to New York Harbor, McLean was forced to wait several days while longshoremen manually loaded the cargo. The time- and cost-intensive nature of standard break-bulk cargo operations was an important impediment to trade and shipping. McLean calculated that in 1956, loading a medium-sized ship the conventional way cost $5.83 a ton. By comparison, loading containers (using the Ideal-X as a frame of reference) would cost less than $0.16 per ton. The economic advantages of such a mode of transportation became clear to the shipping business and the industry would be changed forever.

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ILA Education/History

7 days ago

Port of NY/NJ

NY/NJ DISTRICT COUNCIL HONORS ILA INTERNATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT/ILA LOCAL 1814 PRESIDENT FRANK AGOSTA AS MAN OF THE YEAR

The New York-New Jersey District Council, International Longshoremen’s Association, honored ILA International Vice President/ILA Local 1814 President Frank Agosta as they named him Man of the Year on May 19, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. Frank Agosta is a well respected leader on the waterfront and began his career on the docks in February of 1979.
He has devoted his life as a member and delegate of the ILA since that time.

**CONGRATULATIONS**

In the photograph, International Vice President Frank Agosta (second from left) is surrounded by ILA leaders and delegates out of the Port of NY/NJ at Forno’s of Spain in Newark, NJ.

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