OUR HISTORY
I. The early days
ILWU Local 56 is one of our union’s oldest locals: our charter was established in Southern California on October 12, 1937. Local 56 members were originally employed as ship scalers (scraping barnacles from the hulls of old ships) and ship painters — some of the toughest, most dangerous jobs on the waterfront.
Former ship scaler and Local 56 member Felix “Blackie” Alvarez was one of the first members of Local 56 and among the last surviving workers to have endured the great labor struggles of the 1930s. Alvarez describes coming to the United States in 1928 and worked painting and scraping ship hulls using long poles.
Before the union, Alvarez describes working conditions as difficult — “it was dangerous [...] a lot of guys got hurt.” Workers were forced to do hot, dangerous and difficult work for low pay, like clean up the boilers on ships. “We had no choice but to work the way we did,” explains Alvarez.
II. "The union makes us strong"
After the local was chartered in 1937 and ship scalers were represented by a union for the first time in their history in Southern California, the militant members of Local 56 got to work in creating a safer and more equitable workplace.
“The first thing we did [when we became members] was to focus on safety,” says Alvarez. The struggle to win safer and fairer working conditions was an “uphill fight,” with employers treating Local 56 members “like dirt.” Alvarez highlights how critical the union was to achieving better working conditions and holding employers accountable to create safe working conditions.
"When we got organized... we had a lot of power!"
explains Felix "Blackie" Alvarez, founding member of Local 56.
III. Mechanization brings new challenges & opportunities
In the 1950s and ‘60s, with an increase in mechanization came a changed work environment. Ship scalers weren’t needed as regularly to scale and paint ship hulls, but there were new dangers and hazards on the horizon as maritime trade exploded. The ship scalers’ roles on the waterfront expanded — while safety regulations improved, the hazards of the job continued to make work a constant danger.
During the devastating oil spill in 1990 in the Los Angeles harbor, Local 56 members tirelessly worked to clean up the spill and minimize damage to the local environment. Our membership has continued to work hard to respond efficiently and safely to disasters and emergencies in Southern California.
We are proud of our union’s diversity and inclusivity, counting many immigrants as proud Local 56 members. Over the past few decades, more women have joined our local, because they knew they wouldn't be paid less than men for the same work due to our fair and transparent union contracts.
IV. Carrying on our founders' legacy
Today, the members of Local 56 remain in an ongoing struggle to improve the lives of workers and ensure that our union remains strong. Our work looks slightly different, but just like our members of years past, our difficult and essential labor allows the harbors to function efficiently and safely.
Our members work for environmental services companies like NRC, Patriot Environmental Services, Ancon and more, providing critical services for the Long Beach and Los Angeles harbors to ensure that waterfront workers are able to safely manage the flow of seaborne cargo in and out of the harbor.
