Frank Jenkins was an imposing, charismatic, extremely handsome man. In 1968, Local 19 President Martin Jugum first introduced me to Frank, who was then a recently-retired ILWU Local 19 longshoreman. 

At the time, I was young man. Frank and I became friends, later soul mates, and he became my mentor. Frank started working as a Seattle longshoreman in 1918. After working fifty years on the docks, Frank retired -- then took a job with Seattle Stevedore as a superintendent. 

It was this job, late in life, that generated some controversy which I hope to clear up in this column. Frank was a dedicated family man. He always refused to work weekends because he and his wife Marie - a caustic, witty, beautiful lady – were totally devoted to raising Frank’s grandson, Brian Jenkins. 

Frank worked hard for our union, but felt it was important to spend quality weekend time with Brian. I think this devotion to his family and grandson may have been due to Frank’s early years when his own family life was less stable. L ife hadn’t been easy for Frank because he was Black, and because his father was a career U.S. 

Army soldier who had to move often, so Frank and his family were constantly being relocated. When Frank’s father left the Army, the family settled in Seattle where Frank’s dad became the head man at a waterfront pier. This opened the door for Frank to become a longshoreman. For many years, Frank was a behind-the-scenes leader of ILWU Local 19.

Frank said that he didn’t enjoy being in the limelight, and was always modest and humble. But it’s also true that opportunities for a Black man at that time were more limited than today. Frank loved the Pacific Ocean and spent many weekends at my home on the Washington Coast in the little town of Cosmopolis. 

My wife, Jacque, would spend time with Frank’s wife, Marie, while Frank and I would talk union business long into the night. From those sessions I learned a great deal about the history of both Frank and the ILWU.

It was always clear to me that Frank’s main passion in life was to advance unionism, which he knew was the only way for workers to earn a respectable living. Frank contributed four decades of rank and file leadership to the ILWU, including his participation in the 1934 Seattle strike.

In the 1950’s, he testified at Harry Bridges’ fifth trial, when the government was attempting to revoke Harry’s citizenship. Although the U.S. Supreme Court had previously overturned Harry’s criminal conviction for perjury, Frank was persecuted for helping Harry on the witness stand. The Coast Guard confiscated Frank’s waterfront pass, preventing him from working. The Coast Guard finally returned the pass four months later.

After Frank retired as a longshoreman in 1967, he took a Superintendent position the next year with Seattle Stevedore. This move angered a small group of ultra-left critics in Local 19. They’d say: “Frank Jenkins did many good things for the members of our local, but he showed his true colors when he sold the union out and switched sides to work for the employer.”

I thought this criticism was unfair and wrong. I felt Frank was always totally honest, unassuming and extremely effective in helping the members of Local 19. Frank’s critics in Local 19 couldn’t accept the fact that he was a good union man who later became a good superintendant after retiring.

Having known some bad superintendants in my time, I always preferred working with the ones who were decent and respectful, like Frank. But that kind of common sense didn’t hold water with the radicals who said that Frank had “sold out” and worse. I had a chance to set things straight in 1986, when Local 19 was celebrating their 100th Anniversary.

The local officers invited me to come from San Francisco where I was working as an ILWU Coast Committeeman, to speak at their historic event. I was honored to be seated at the head table with Harry Bridges, his wife Nicky Bridges, and Martin Jugum. I wish that Frank Jenkins could have been there with us at that table; but unfortunately he passed away in 1973.

As I was finishing my address to the celebrants, I said that I wanted to talk about Frank Jenkins, and his decision to take the job of superintendent after retiring as a longshoreman. I noted that Frank had put in 50 years of hard, dirty work on the waterfront.

I told the audience that Harry Bridges and the other International officers wanted Frank to work as a superintendent because they knew containerization was exploding in the 1960’s, and a man of Frank’s caliber could help the ILWU by having fair, decent people in management to help us cope with the dramatic changes that were coming.

Frank initially turned down Harry’s suggestion, but Bridges persevered and Frank reluctantly took the Superintendent’s job with Seattle Stevedore. After my speech, the chairman asked Harry if there was anything he wanted to add to my statement about Frank and the ILWU officials who encouraged Frank to take the superintendent job.

Harry stood up, turned to face the audience, and said: “That is correct. Every word Randy spoke was the truth.” Martin Jugum later told me that Frank Jenkins had more principle in his little finger than most people have in their entire body.

An appropriate ending to Frank’s story is the following unedited, hand-written statement from Bob Swanson, a retired ILWU Local 19 longshoreman and life-long activist, who is the last living longshoreman that was a friend and co-worker of Frank Jenkins. “Frank was a very active union man, 100% union. 

Frank served on the Labor Relations Committee for at least 20 years. He was a member of the Executive Board of Local 19 and a caucus-convention delegate seven times. To this man the union was number one. 

In the evening TV, radio, etc. were all second. He would be studying the contract so he would be ready for the employers the next day. My brother, LeRoy Swanson, was in Frank’s gang for many years”.

I’ve missed Frank for the 35 years since his death, and I hope others will remember and appreciate the contribution he made to our union. (Frank Jenkins, #55143, was born on November 11, 1903. 

He retired on January 1, 1967, and passed on April 4, 1973) Elvis L. Carter, Sr. (“Cassius”) Randy Vekich, Local 24 Aberdeen, Washington