Synopses & Reviews
Big Bob — six-feet-four Robert McEllrath's waterfront handle — was heralded for his powerful speaking style, charisma, unifying vision, and negotiating prowess. President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) for twelve eventful years, McEllrath retired in 2018 after nearly forty years as a union officer. More than just a telling of a storied career, Labor Under Siege explores how the influential union persisted in an era when the US labor movement was under attack and seemingly in retreat.
In the face of grave dangers since the 1980s, including threats from corporations, government authorities, law enforcement agents, and even other labor unions, the ILWU has persevered and retained its vibrancy. Offering insight into Big Bob's leadership and a close-up view of how decision-making and policy were carried out to ensure the union's survival, Labor Under Siege shows how union officers and rank-and-file members shaped ILWU strategy and furthered the union's legacy of advocating for workers' rights, democracy, and justice.
Review
"As labor reasserts itself, it can learn from those who recall the importance of effective leadership, maintaining solidarity locally and internationally, supporting social justice causes, and upholding the ILWU motto, 'an injury to one is an injury to all.'" Laurie Mercier, author of Speaking History: Oral Histories of the American Past, 1865-Present
Review
"Robert McEllrath steered the legendary, militant West Coast dockworkers union through some of its most tumultuous waters. Schwartz, a consummate oral historian, lets the voices of Big Bob and those around him describe those stormy seas." Peter Cole, author of Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area
About the Author
Harvey Schwartz is curator of the Oral History Collection for the ILWU Library in San Francisco. He is the author of Building the Golden Gate Bridge: A Workers' Oral History and Solidarity Stories: An Oral History of the ILWU.
Ronald E. Magden (1926-2018) is the author of several books, including A History of Seattle Waterfront Workers, 1884-1934 and two accounts of longshore unionism in Tacoma.