Labor Under Siege: An Oral History

Labor Under Siege: An Oral History. Big Bob McEllrath and the ILWU´S Fight for Organized Labor in an Anti-Union Era by Harvey Schwartz with Ronald E. Magden (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2022)

Undoubtedly, the period of mounting anti-union antagonism that organized labor faced (and continues to face) starting in the early 1970s is an important period of research for scholars of labor and politics. Among the many reasons, it is important because it provides greater insight into the multitude of strategies, actions, conflicts, and constraints that restricted, even further, labor power with the rise of neoliberalism and anti-worker political forces. Labor Under Siege, by Harvey Schwartz with the contributions of Ronald E. Magden, provides scholars of labor history and politics with enlightening insight into the many issues faced by unions and labor leaders during this period. An oral history, the book provides a firsthand, personal account of the life and activity of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) president Big Bob McEllrath, his life as dockworker on the West Coast, and rise to leadership of one of the major progressive labor unions in the United States. Big Bob started working on the docks in 1969, moving through various local and regional positions in the union. McEllrath held the position of ILWU vice president, from 2000-2006 and president, from 2006-2018.

Harvey Schwartz, the curator for the Oral History Collection located at the ILWU Library and historian in dock labor, draws on an expansive collection of interviews, 41 in total, with Big Bob, dock labor activists, and family members. The interviews are carefully woven into a uniform account that illustrates in sharp ways how progressive unions faced the mounting anti-union political climate, and how individual efforts are important to shape the collective action of workers. It reinforces the ILWU´s well-documented commitment to progressive politics and causes, that go beyond the immediate demands of collective bargaining, intertwining the successes and setbacks of the union and life challenges faced by McEllrath during his years in the union. Many of these challenges the US labor movement faces, and continues to face, in the present. Labor under Siege  is also an important contribution to the history of the ILWU. The narratives provide much-needed texture to the already existent literature of the West Coast dockworkers union, and a deeper look into the political challenges of labor unity driven by racial and class tensions among workers. In a broad sense, the narratives around McEllrath’s life and work at the head of the union are much more than a personal account, from his start as a casual in a small longshore union in Vancouver, Washington to the ILWU presidency. It is also an account of modern working-class life, its good times, and hardships, during a period when good paying steady union jobs were increasingly under attack by the federal government and corporate-driven neoliberal economic policies. In many ways, the oral histories organized in the book offer greater insight into the complicated road of how everyday workers become class-conscious activists and leaders, and the role of organized labor in this process; lives committed to the struggle of the working class. In this sense, Labor Under Siege is a truly inspiring contribution to the study of labor history and politics.

Schwartz has written a meticulous contribution to the oral history of an important sector of the US working class centered around the accounts of Big Bob and influential activists within the ILWU during a crucial period for organized labor. Labor under Siege also brings to sharp relief the importance and need for more oral histories of workers. It provides greater context to our understanding of contemporary working-class life. In this  context the contribution of oral histories to labor history is not simply the collection of interviews as Alessandro Portelli argued:

He goes on to argue that the “subjectivity of a social group or class” is an equally important feature when constructing the historical narrative, “They tell us not just what people did, but what they wanted to do, what they believe they were doing and what they now think they did.” The questions that the historian asks, the interviews that were chosen, and their organization, are all important aspects of the work of oral history. In this way Labor Under Siege is the work of a highly skilled oral historian. Through the words of Big Bob and the other interviewees, the central theme that stands out is that of a life and a union committed to the class struggle and unity of the working class.

At a time when workers and society, in general, face dangerous challenges from extreme rightwing, anti-labor political forces, Labor Under Siege is an important reminder that the organization of workers and growth of the labor movement is crucial if democracy is to survive in the United States. As another important historian, Eric Hobsbawm, wrote: “It is important to remind ourselves from time to time that we don’t know all the answers about society and that the process of discovering them is not simple. Those who plan and manage society now are perhaps unlikely to listen. Those who want to change society and eventually plan its development ought to also listen.” We would all do well by taking into careful consideration the life lessons of Big Bob McEllrath and the ILWU. This is a great read for labor activists, scholars, and students.

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