Waterfront Labor Corruption

The film "On the Waterfront," made in the mid-1950s, depicted investigations of the Waterfront Commission into the infiltration of the International Longshoremen's Association by criminals. These investigations of union corruption later expanded into Congressional investigations of other unions, notable the Teamsters, and to the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959. In this scene, a longshoreman (played by Marlon Brando) has agreed to testify about a murder instigated by a local union president. (Some film historians interpret the plot as an explanation by director Elia Kazan as to why he "named-names" before a Congressional committee during the blacklisting era in Hollywood.)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• longshore
• ILA
• waterfront
• corruption
• unions