NORTH BERGEN, NJ (February 14, 2020) Louis Pernice, a powerful force on ILA’s Brooklyn waterfront for over a half century and an International Vice President and Executive Council member, passed away on Thursday, February 13, 2020 in New York City. Louis retired recently as President of ILA Local 1814 which he led as President since 2003.
Pernice was nearing his 60th Anniversary with the ILA, first joining Local 9 Sugar Workers in 1961 before it merged with ILA Local 1814. His longest serving position was as Secretary-Treasurer with ILA Local 1814 from 1974 until his election as President 29 years later.
“The ILA has lost another one of its legendary leaders in Lou Pernice,” said Harold J. Daggett, President, International Longshoremen’s Association. “Lou was the face of the ILA in Brooklyn. No one fought harder for his membership; no one represented the ILA with force, courage and power better than Lou Pernice.
“For many years, Lou Pernice and I negotiated together, representing ILA maintenance workers in the Port of New York and New Jersey,” continued President Daggett. “He for ILA Local 1814 and me with ILA Local 1804-1. Whether we were facing Metropolitan Marine Maintenance Corporation across the negotiating table or New York Shipping, Lou Pernice was a highly respected and intelligent labor leader.”
Louis Pernice graduated from St. John’s University in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance. He served in the U.S. Army from 1956 until his Honorable Discharge in 1958.
Louis Pernice was elected General Vice President of the ILA’s Atlantic Coast District in July 2000 and he later became an International Vice President and Executive Board member in July 2003.
A native of Brooklyn, Louis Pernice and his wife, Norma, resided in Manhattan.
A Wake will be held for Louis Pernice at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel, 1076 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 (Phone: 212-288-3500) on Sunday, February 16, 2020 from 4 pm to 8 pm and Monday, February 17, 2020 from 2 pm to 8 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, February 18th at 11 am at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary & St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church, 125 Summit Street, Brooklyn, New York.