Southern California ILWU Locals honor fallen workers at First Blood memorial in San Pedro
On May 15, more than 200 ILWU members, pensioners, auxiliary and officers from Locals 13, 26, 63, 94 and the Inlandboatmen’s Union gathered at the Longshore memorial in San Pedro’s Gibson Park for the 20th Annual First Blood Memorial.
ILWU members gather each year at the bust of ILWU cofounder Harry Bridges and a plaque bearing names of ILWU members who have been killed while working on the docks in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
During the ceremony the names of each the fallen workers was read aloud, and a bell was rung following each name. The ceremony honors members from the Longshore Division, the Inlandboatmen’s Union, the ILWU’s Marine Division, and port security guards from Local 26.
This year’s memorial ceremony recognized Chulaih Ang, who was killed on the docks earlier this year and became the 70th name to be added to the memorial plaque honoring those who have died on the waterfront.
“On the granite stone behind me, you’ll see the names of everybody who’s ever been killed on the waterfront,” said PCPA President Greg Mitre. “Unfortunately, this year, we’re going to put another name on there. We work in a very dangerous industry. We have this memorial every year so that we will never forget. We owe that to our families. We owe that to the families of those that have been killed. And we owe it to our brothers and sisters who work on the waterfront.”
Pattama Ang, Chuliah’s wife, was among the speakers at the memorial. “I still miss him,” she said. “My husband is the greatest man I have met in my life. We came here to follow the American Dream. I would like to thank you— all of his brothers and sisters—for the support during the times he worked at the port. He would always come home and talk about the good things and how much he enjoyed going to work every day.” Also in attendance were 22 members of the family of Jose Santoyo, an ILWU mechanic who was killed on the job in 2019
First Blood in 1934
In addition to honoring ILWU workers killed on the job, the event commemorates the early struggles by West Coast longshore workers for fair wages, hours and working conditions. The First Blood ceremony recalls the violent clash between dockworkers and company-paid strikebreakers on May 15, 1934 that lead to the deaths of Dickie Parker and John Knudsen, the first two workers killed in 1934 in the fight for dignity on the waterfront.
In his remarks at the memorial event, Local 13 President Ramon Ponce de Leon spoke about Parker and Knudsen and the sacrifices they made and the times that they lived.
“Dickie Parker shed his blood for us, for everybody here,” Ponce de Leon said. “He didn’t intend on doing it, but he did it for the working class. I want us to never forget Chulaih Ang, Jose Santoyo, Dickie Parker, and John Knudsen.”