[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 24, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8118-S8119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         IN COMMEMORATION OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF HARRY BRIDGES

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I would like to take this 
opportunity to share with the Senate a little of the remarkable life of 
Harry Renton Bridges, one of America's great labor leaders and most 
impassioned voices for democracy, progress and human dignity. Harry's 
many friends and admirers will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of 
his birth on July 28 with a march to the plaza which bears his name in 
San Francisco.

[[Page S8119]]

  Harry's legend began in 1934, when he helped lead the 83-day West 
Coast longshoremen's strike. This action remains a watershed moment in 
the history of the worker's movement in the United States. What was 
accomplished not only reverberated in San Francisco and up and down the 
West Coast, but eventually all across the country. Prior to this time, 
working conditions along America's waterfronts were deplorable. The men 
worked hard, for very little pay and often in very dangerous 
conditions. Under Harry's leadership, this changed. The strike brought 
employers to the table. As a result, dock workers and seamen were 
finally able to work with a measure of pride and security.
  What began as an insurgent labor movement in 1934 eventually grew 
into the International Longshore and Warehouse Union or ILWU. Under 
Harry's guidance, the ILWU helped lead the way in the fight for 
workers' rights and forms of social justice in the United States and 
around the globe. The Union stood steadfast against fascism during the 
1930's and 40's. During the war it protested the detention of Japanese-
Americans. It was one of the first unions to be thoroughly racially 
integrated. It fought McCarthyism and the communist witch hunts and 
blacklists. Harry and the ILWU spoke out early and loudly against 
apartheid in South Africa. And the list goes on. Wherever Harry sensed 
injustice he responded instinctively to correct it.
  Harry was a native Australian, but he made San Francisco his home. 
Here he is remembered as a hero. Many credit his vision and passion as 
a guiding force behind the City's compassion, tolerance and political 
progressiveness.
  Two years ago the San Francisco Port Authority officially named the 
new Ferry Building plaza the Harry Bridges Plaza. It was a fitting 
tribute to a man who did so much to transform the waterfront. Efforts 
are currently underway to further honor Harry and his memory through 
the construction of a monument on the plaza.
  Harry was truly one of a kind. Simply put, he cared enough to make a 
difference. Although he passed away over ten years ago, he and his 
memory continue to live on in the hearts of those who knew him and who 
continue to be inspired by his example.

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