San Francisco Waterfront History
San Francisco Waterfront History
The San Francisco Waterfront
The Social
Consequences of Industrial Modernization
Part One; "The Good Old Days"
By Herb Mills
Page 9
While this, too, eliminated an historic source of favoritism, it also tended to equalize the income of the gang men. Constant attention was paid to the relative work opportunity of hall and gang men, but an equalization was in large measure maintained simply by the men exercising their option of working either in a gang or from the hall.
The hiring hall was indeed "the union." It was the institution whereby the reality of community could be fashioned and maintained by men who had agreed to structure and divide their work on a fair and equal basis and who, through great strife and conflict, had won the right to do so.
As for the on-going fairness of the dispatch system, that was to be insured by the men annually electing their representatives to the joint Labor Relations and Promotions committees from their own ranks. An annual election of dispatchers by and from the ranks was also to assure the honesty and fairness of its day-to-day operation.
The Dialogue.. A centralized "sign-in" and dispatch for work and the physical existence of a hiring hall meant that over a period of time the hall men became very well acquainted. Their acquaintance was also reinforced when they were dispatched to the same gang, ship, or dock.
Since hall men were dispatched "to fill out the gangs" with needed men, acquaintances between the hall and gang men also developed over time. The men of different gangs were likewise destined to become acquainted by being dispatched to the same ship and, not infrequently, by having been assigned to opposite ends of the same hatch.
With the passage of time, then, most of the San Francisco longshoremen had developed at least some acquaintanceship with all of their union brothers. The average longshoreman was also destined to become very well acquainted with a considerable number of those men. For most men, such acquaintanceships frequently grew into a real and lasting friendship.
Friendships were also spawned and strengthened over breakfast at the many waterfront cafes, at "the coffee break," with a deck of cards at lunch, and when the men were "sent to supper" prior to finishing a vessel (this continued until 1966).
