The Pacific Coast Maritime Strike of 1936: Another View

Abstract

The Pacific Coast maritime strike of 1936 lasted ninety-nine days and cost the maritime and related industries almost $700 million. For seventy years scholars have placed primary blame on the shipowners and waterfront operators, who are seen as preferring to tie up their ships rather than grant union demands. The records of the U.S. Maritime Commission (1936–1950) reveal a different story about the conflict. From the Maritime Commission's perspective, the maritime and longshore unions were at fault for refusing to grasp opportunities offered them by management. The article also includes hitherto unrecorded involvement on the part of Frances Perkins and the Department of Labor, as well as key reminiscences and documents from the private papers of one of the commission's primary actors in government efforts to prevent the strike through mediation and arbitration.