Ward served as a Coast Committeeman for 20 years, including during the historic 1971 strike.
William T. (Bill) Ward, who served as a Coast Committeeman for 20 years, passed away on May 16th at the age of 85. Ward was an officer of ILWU Local 13 and he served on the ILWU Coast Labor Relations Committee from 1963 to 1983. During his tenure, Ward helped shape ILWU policies and programs that benefit longshore workers to this day. Even in retirement, Ward remained active in the affairs of the ILWU. Beginning in 1996, Ward served as President of the Copra Crane Landmark Association which has been working to preserve the cultural history of San Francisco’s working water front. Ward was a dedicated ILWU member and officer who demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the union and the working class.
Recalling the 1934 strike
Ward’s father, Fred, was the first President of ILWU Local 63. But prior to becoming a clerk, Fred Ward worked as a longshoreman. He was a member of ILA Local 38-82 which later became ILWU Local 13. During the 1934 strike, Bill Ward recalls lending a hand in the struggle. “During the strike I used to sell papers at the scab compound, hear things the scabs were talkin’ about, and tell my father where
I thought these people were going to be the next day. This allowed the union to know where to demonstrate with a great amount of vigor,” Ward said in his oral history in Solidarity Stories.
From 1948-1950 Ward worked as a marine clerk after returning home from the Second World War. But by 1950 Ward discovered he was more interested in the physical side of the industry and he transferred to Local 13 where he worked until 1963 when he was elected to the Coast Committee. While at Local 13, Ward was elected business agent and he served on the Local’s Labor Relations Committee. Ward was also elected to serve on the International Executive Board in 1961.
Alcoholism recovery program
One of Ward’s most recognized contributions as a Coast Committeeman was the creation of the joint ILWU/PMA alcoholism recovery program that he championed. Ward pioneered treatment programs at a time when alcoholism was the fifth largest killer in the United States and many people thought that it was an untreatable condition. In 1964, Ward testified before the California State Assembly on the ILWU’s pilot treatment program.
“The program came along at the right time and helped save a lot people’s lives and jobs,” said George Cobbs, who, in 1980, was hired as the first Director of the Northern California recovery program; he is now the President of the Bay Area Pensioners Club. “Bill’s role in establishing the recovery program was really important and I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves.”
In 1983, Ward decided to return to the job and ended up where he began his ILWU career—as a clerk for Local 63. At the ILWU convention in 1983, a resolution was passed honoring his contribution as an officer: “Bill’s long term in office has been marked by a steadfast commitment to the ILWU, and a deep concern for its members both active and retired. He has attended to his duties with skill and dedication, and consistently provided wise leadership and effective representation. His supervision of the ILWU-PMA Substance Abuse Program has literally saves the lives of scores of members of this union.”
Copra Crane Labor Landmark Association
Ward was active even in retirement. In addition to being a member of the Bay Area Pensioners Club, starting in 1996, Ward served as President of the Copra Crane Labor Landmark Association (CCLA), a coalition of labor and environmental groups that fought to preserve the corpra crane at Pier 84 on San Francisco’s Islais Creek. The crane is the last remaining piece of machinery in the Port of San Francisco that was hand operated by longshoremen working bulk cargo.
Ward felt strongly that it was important to preserve the aging crane as a monument to the city’s working class history. He was active with the CCLA until very recently. The February 2011 issue of the Dispatcher reported on the CCLA’s outreach efforts to a group of young skateboarders at Islais Creek.
The area is now one of the most popular skateboarding areas in the world. Ward, along with ILWU pensioner Don Watson and ILWU historian Harvey Schwartz, spoke with the youth at length about the efforts to preserve the crane and the history of San Francisco’s working waterfront.
The CCLA has won support from the City and Port of San Francisco. The crane has been temporarily taken down for repairs and in order to rebuild the dock on which it sat. It may be reassembled later this year. When reassembled, the crane will serve as part of Ward’s enduring legacy.
In his 1998 oral history with Harvey Schwartz, Ward reflected on the changes in the longshore industry since he started working on the docks as a high school student in 1943. Given his long tenure as a Coast Committeeman, Ward deserves some of the credit for the gains that have been won.
In 1943, Ward said “The only thing I took home was a straight-time wage, with overtime after six hours.
Now when registered longshoremen leave the docks after a day’s work, they take home a very high wage and benefit credits towards pensions, holidays, vacations, and medical coverage for them and their families. They have a fair dispatch system. They have the freedom of a forty-hour week. … Is that a great union or what?”
Ward is survived by his wife, Vera, his four daughters: Claudia, Paula, Kerry and Pamela, a Local 13 longshore worker, and his seven grandchildren: Sarah, Tara, Benjamin, Kayleigh, Alexandra, Piper, and Matthew.