In honor of Black History Month, the Dispatcher interviewed African-American ILWU members and pensioners from across the union. They shared their stories about the careers, their activism, and perspectives on the ILWU and being a part of a union.
Demetrius Freeman
Local 30 Chief Steward
I come from a union family. My dad is a retired Teamster from IBT Local 63. I always heard my dad talking shop about the union. Even at a young age, I paid attention to the benefits of a union as far as healthcare, pay, and fair treatment. I knew then that I wanted to be a union member. I joined Laborers Local 783 and was also a member of Laborers Local 300 in Los Angeles for 12 years.
I was injured in 2000 and then worked as a trucker. My goal was to get back in a union job and I did that in October 2012 at US Borax. I became a member of ILWU Local 30 where I am a chief operator and a Chief Steward for the union, representing 549 members at the facility. I noticed that a lot of workers were not being treated right so I chose to become a union steward, and during our last election was elected Chief Steward. I am also Sargent-at-Arms. I was elected to that position in 2018. I also serve as a trustee, safety representative and I am also on the Local 30 Executive Board. I am the first African-American at Local 30 to hold these positions. I wanted to become more involved with the union and eventually become an officer. I wanted to serve the union by learning these different functions and understand how the union works.
It’s so important for the membership to participate in the union. Our strength is in our numbers and when we stand together as union members. Our voices are much bigger together than we are speaking alone. Being more active in the union means you can better understand things that are being voted by the Executive Board or things that are on the floor for the membership to vote on. I was proud to see that the ILWU was out front in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and helped to put a spotlight on injustices, whether it’s police brutality or any other injustice. It’s good to see a union that I am a part of stand behind some of the ideals that are important to me as a Black man.
Brandi Good,
ILWU Local 13,Chief Dispatcher
I started in 2004 working as a casual. I am a third-generation longshore worker coming in behind my grandfather and my father. I became registered in 2006 under the Child of the Deceased (COD) program.
Initially, I wasn’t sure that it would be a job that I would feel comfortable doing, but after working and getting an understanding of the camaraderie that we have on the waterfront I knew it was something I wanted to continue doing. It was just a feeling knowing that this was a place where my grandfather and father worked. There was a great feeling of family, unity and togetherness.
I graduated from Spelman College, a Historically Black College in Atlanta, with a degree in Political Science. As soon as I became a member of Local 13, I knew I wanted to get involved and become active with the union. It started with me doing a lot of volunteering which turned into me running for different positions: Southern California District Council, Political Action Committee, Membership Committee and I was also a mentor for a Child of Deceased. Holding those positions started to give me more knowledge of what our union is about, and I knew I wanted to grow stronger within our union. Two years ago I was first elected as a Dispatcher, and this year I was elected as Chief Dispatcher for Local 13.
It is important to know what our union is about. It gives us a better appreciation for our job—understanding our history, understanding the practices we have in place, and to continue to strengthen our union. I was raised working in the community. I am a part of the sorority Delta Sigma Theta, Inc, and we do a lot of community work as well. Between the ILWU and Delta Sigma Theta I know the importance of having a presence in the community and giving back.
There are a lot of areas that need help within our community, one being the African- American community, with Black Lives Matter and other organizations that are trying to provide justice and equality. It was a big deal when our International stood up and showed support to the Black Lives movement. When Juneteenth was acknowledged by the ILWU last summer, I thought it was a bold and unprecedented move not only spotlighting the issue of race in our country, but also giving voice to all longshore workers who want to send a message to the world that Black lives do matter. I am proud to say that I have the benefit of working for a union that cares about this history and the legacy that we will leave behind for our children and future workers.
Leslie Winston, Local 94
I started as a casual in September of 1998. I am a third-generation longshore worker. My grandfather, Joe Winston, was down there along with my father and three uncles. So I grew up knowing the ILWU. I put in an application and became a casual in LA/Long Beach in September of 1998. I was teaching at the time and just enjoyed the culture, history and flexibility on the waterfront. I love my job.
I think back to the experience of my grandfather and all of the things he endured—the difficult work, the racism—that pushes me a little harder. In difficult times he could have given up, but he didn’t. I think about him when I am working and I want to make him proud.
Once I got my B-book, I wanted to become more involved in the union. I just wanted to give back and be involved as much as I could. I felt like as an African-American woman, we didn’t have the representation so I wanted to get out there and try and to do more. There were others who were active that inspired me, and I patterned myself after them as a way to give back to the union.
I first ran in 2014 for Day Dispatcher at Local 13 but wasn’t elected. Six months later I was elected Day Flex Dispatcher and six months after that I was elected Day Dispatcher. In 2016 I was elected Chief Dispatcher. I was the first African-American woman to hold that position in Local 13. The following year I made foreman. My father and my uncle were both foremen. I’ve tried to take as many different jobs as I could on the waterfront so one day I would be qualified to be a foreman.
I met Brandi, [the current Local 13 Chief Dispatcher], through her father. Our lives were so similar. We are both third generation on the waterfront. We both went to Spelman College and she lived a few blocks from me. When she came in through the Child of Deceased program I helped her out however I could. I wanted to help her succeed.
We always have to remember—especially as women, but even more so African-American women—that there was always somebody before us, setting that path for us to follow or breakthrough the barrier that they opened the door for us to do. For me it’s imperative that I not only open the door for someone, but that I bring them through.
Even though this is Black History month, we all stand together. We can’t do this by ourselves. We have to be united and show solidarity in every way and that is what carries us through tough times. Every contract we stand together and that’s one thing I truly love about this union.
PureFreedom Markray,
Local 63 OCU
I’ve been working for COSCO for 24 years. It’s a good place to work. It’s stable and we’ve got good benefits. I have a lot of family and friends in Local 13. It’s important that the union continue to take a stand on social issues like racial justice. We do need to bring people of different cultures together.
I feel like there is a lot of separation between us and now is time for all of us to come together and do the best we can to come together as a close family. I was a rapper and now I’m also a media correspondent and celebrity interviewer.
Calvin Barnett
ILWU Local 23
I started working on the waterfront as a casual in August of 2003. I had a cousin who was a longshoreman in Washington. When I came to Tacoma from New Orleans, I wanted to see what longshoring was about. Someone I knew told me to go to fill out an application at the unemployment center and that’s what I did. I started calling in and getting jobs and it worked out. I got a few jobs and sometimes I wouldn’t get a job but I stuck with it. I found it interesting and it paid off.
The more work I got, the more knowledge and experience I got and it grew from there. I had never worked on the waterfront so I wasn’t familiar with it. I really enjoyed the work. I enjoy all the jobs—driving forklifts, top picks. I love loading trains with the straddle carrier. There are so many jobs that you can get. I haven’t found a job yet that I don’t enjoy. I’ve had a lifetime of experience on the waterfront and it’s been good for me. Being a longshore worker is one of the best jobs out there, and I’ve had a lot of them. This one will be my last one because I’m planning on retiring sooner or later. I attend union meetings but I’ve never run for office. We have alot of people qualified to hold office and do those things. My contribution is to go to work, help to get the ships in and out and get the product out to the people who need it. I would recommend that anyone who wants to be in a union, the ILWU is great union to be in.
Adrian Watkins
Local 94
I started on the waterfront in 1979. I came in under what was known then as the Permissive Rule— the Child of the Deceased Program.
My father was an active longshoreman when he passed. My father was introduced to the union by his brother who started in 1945. I started in the Bay Area in Local 10. I worked up there for a year solid.
Then I started traveling down to Los Angeles because work in San Francisco started to dry up. When I got in, San Francisco was doing more cargo than Los Angeles. I think by ’81, Los Angeles passed San Francisco. In 1986, I transferred to Local 13 along with 70 other longshoremen from Local 10 and I’ve been here ever since.
I’ve worked steady and I’ve worked out of the hall. I prefer working out of the hall. My family lived in Alabama, so I would work then go home with the family for a number of months. I transferred to the Foreman’s Local 94 in 1996. I was working for a foreman, Bobby MacKenzie, and he said he thought I would make a good foreman. He asked me to apply the next time they sent out letters for foremen. I went through the tests and interviews. And that’s how I became a foreman.
The ILWU under Harry Bridges was very forward-looking. The ILWU has always been on the forefront of social justice. It was at Local 10 where ILWU refused to unload ships from South Africa to protest apartheid when Nelson Mandela was in prison. When he got out of prison, Mandela thanked the ILWU for their solidarity.
Terence Candell
Inlandboatmen’s Union
I started in 2013. My grandfather was an IBU member. He was actually the first full-time employee at Golden Gate Ferry when they opened up in 1973. He was there for 44 years. His last year was the year that I started. I actually ended up working on his boat. My mother also worked for Golden Gate Ferry. She was a dispatcher through the IBU for quite a few years. Being a part of the IBU is a multi-generational thing for me.
I was 18 and coming out of fast food jobs. My mother told me about the employment opportunities at the IBU SF-Region hall and so I got on the training list, got my credentials, and went over there. I didn’t really know what the work was going to be like, but it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
When I started out, I didn’t know much about unions. I got linked with a long-time IBU member Frank McMurray and he gave me the Union 101 and the 201. I love being on the water. Being 18 years old in a union with a strong contract and benefits, full-time and the highest pay I had ever seen—it was fantastic. The experience out of the union hall was something to behold. It fosters a strong sense of community among union members. It’s not just a place where you get a job. It’s where you hang out, have social events, and do union business.
After a few years working, I got involved in the organizing of our union. You recognize things working on the water and how to make conditions safer. I would talk to shop stewards and supervisors—whoever would listen—to get us better resources, better conditions. I saw the need for more activism and advocacy and I took on that role. I eventually ended up forming a committee for our union, the Member Action Committee. It was a rank-and-file, member-led committee. It was about organizing members to empower themselves—know your contract, speak up on the job, speak to your Executive Board. We also organized rallies and got our members out to May Day rallies with the longshore workers, marching with our banner and making noise with Local 10. I was also on the Northern California District Council for awhile, working along aside with Marina Secchitano, Melvin Mackay and Fred Pecker. Fred was amazing to me. He took me under his wing. I was surrounded by a lot of really good union members.
That led members pushing for me to run for shop steward which I did for a few years. Things moved quickly—from joining the union, to being shop steward and people coming to me with things they wanted corrected, to organizing rallies and standing alongside some amazing union members—it’s been one of the best experiences of my life.
Direct action gets the goods. People who came before you died and bled for what we have now—the contracts, the benefits, the wages. That doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels. That should inspire you to fight.
Antoine Weldon
ILWU Local 26
I currently work as a Watchman at APM Pier 400 Maersk Terminal. I’ve been a Watchman with Local 26 for almost 34 years. I’ve been active with the union as steward and I was the first Chairperson of the Dispatch Committee. I wanted to give more to the union in order to help out others and to help make the situation better for us. We didn’t have a dispatch hall at the time and I wanted to make sure everything was fair for everyone.
We have a lot of issues and concerns out here and things are constantly changing. We need fresh ideas and fresh minds to help solve these challenges like automation, and so they can secure work so they have a long career out here. It’s a great way of life and you can earn a great living out here, but you have to make sure you can keep your jobs secure as you go along. I would like to see this union stand strong and prosper for the members younger than me so they can have the same opportunity that I had. But we have to protect our union and protect our rights.
Norman McLeod
Local 10 Pensioner
I started on the waterfront on September 22, 1969 which was my birthday. I retired in 2011. I’m also very proud to have a son and a grandson on the waterfront.
There wasn’t a lot of work the first six years, but I hung in there. I got my A book in 1975 and I’m glad I stuck it out. I did have problems with alcohol. In 1987 I was blessed to be put into the Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Program and then went back into the program in 1988 and I’ve been sober ever since. I got my head on straight and was eager to work and eager to learn. I was very aware of what the union did for me so it was important that I give something back.
It kind of clicked for me when I was on the job and an old-timer said to me, “Young man, if you take care of this job, it will take care of you.” It was like the doors of heaven opened up and the insight of what a longshoreman was came to me—it was applying myself to be a better worker and a better person and being sober I was able to do that. I was given a lot of opportunities. For 14 years I was an equipment trainer something, I never thought I would do.
When the person who got me into rehab retired, he recommended my for the job. From 2004 until I retired in 2011 I was the ADRP Northern California Representative. I’m an active pensioner. I’m the Vice President of the Northern California Pensioners Club. It’s another way to give back to the union. We help to support the active membership as well as the pensioners. Our motto is “retired from the job but not the struggle.”
Richard Davidson-Jenkins, Local 19
I was at LIUNA Local 440 as a laborer. There was not much work there, so along with two older gentlemen at Local 440, who were known at the longshore hall as Chicago Tom and Coca-Cola Bob, would go to Local 19 and pick up work. This was in 2000. I got registered in 2005.
I like all of the jobs on the waterfront. I will do pretty much any job as long as it benefits the local. I was active in the campaign to oppose the waterfront stadium and would speak at the city council meetings on that issue. Anything that would help keep the local strong and moving forward. I also served on the Board of our Credit Union. A highlight of my career has been as a gear man on the crane jobs when we’ve removed the cranes.
We need to make sure that the younger generation understands that we have a platform that will not only give us good benefits and good pay but will also lift up our economy in Washington. It’s not a platform to be greedy but to be helpful to all. Our motto is: “An injury to one is an injury to all.” That means we are not just serving ourselves but we are serving everyone around us.
I like training our new members coming in because you get to tell them about our history and the inner workings of the docks. I will be retiring at the end of this year. Local 19 and Local 23 have been a major part of life in terms of my growth as a man, a father, husband, grandfather and a supporter of my community.