At first this was true on the North American continent, too. Early explorers sailed along the New England coastline and farther south, some of them establishing tentative colonies on the edge of the forbidding forests. Were it not for those tiny ships manned by curious and courageous mariners who reached these shores, this vast continent might never have been discovered and settled.
Thus our oceangoing heritage traces back to those voyagers who reached these shores, who sailed here from Europe and subsequently traded along the Atlantic seaboard and down to the West Indies. Soon many early settlers became shipbuilders thanks to the unlimited source of lumber and good prospects of transatlantic trade with mother countries where markets for New World products were growing.
Although American privateers were active during the Revolutionary War, it was the French Fleet that contributed to the final British surrender at Yorktown. Realizing the need to build a strong navy, the new American Congress authorized construction of the U.S. Constitution (old "Ironsides") a forty-four gun frigate that took part in the Tripolitan War and the War of 1812 and today is enshrined in Boston harbor.
America has a proud heritage of ocean transportation. Following the War of 1812, the swift packet boats and merchant ships carried most of the coastal and transatlantic passenger and freight traffic. Gradually steamships were introduced, and an outstanding marine development was that of the famous Clipper ships, designed for speedy travel between the United States and China for the tea and opium trades.
With discovery of gold in California, gold seekers who wanted to avoid the dangerous overland trip from the east elected the ocean void-age either around Cape Horn or shortening it by leaving the ships at the Isthmus of Panama, making their way across to the Pacific, and completing their journey by ship. California's growing population soon swelled the traffic and included all the rolling stock, rails, and equipment used to construct the western part of the transcontinental railroad. However, once the rails had met at Promontory Point, Utah, and trains started running from east to west, much of the former ocean freight and passenger business shifted to the rails. Following the Civil War, England's new steel ships gave her a wide advantage over other nations including the United States, which were slower to build similar merchant marine fleets (a nation's fleet of commercial ships). By the mid- 1930s America's merchant marine had declined so far that Congress passed the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 to subsidize construction of a merchant marine and provide for appointment of a Maritime Commission to stimulate shipbuilding.
Soon the country greatly expanded its merchant marine to meet the needs of World War II, but that vast fleet proved unnecessary once peace returned. Transatlantic passenger traffic picked up again with the reappearance of luxurious liners, the best-known of which flew the colors of England, France, Holland, Italy, and the United States. After the late 1950s, however, jet airlines cut transatlantic travel times from four or five days to just hours, and by 1996 the only prestige ship still sailing from the United States was the QEII, which offered special inducement fares for travelers who wanted to sail one way and jet back. For those who craved an ocean voyage, numerous cruise ships offered luxurious accommodations on various itineraries. Meanwhile owners of many cargo ships had transferred their registries to countries such as Panama or Liberia, which assessed much lower taxes and had less stringent safety requirements.
NATIONAL MARITIME UNION
Now let's step back to 1936, specifically to Sunday, March 1, when the SS California put into San Pedro, California, her departure set for 6:00 the next morning. That afternoon the crew, which was from New York, held a meeting and agreed to demand equal pay with that being given the seamen who were working on the West Coast. It would mean $5 more a month for the deck and engine department crew, or $62.50 a month, and a monthly increase of $10 for stewards, giving them a monthly salary of $50. Early Monday morning Joe Curran, the crew's spokesman, delivered the ultimatum to the captain. Company response was immediate. A replacement crew was quickly recruited to take the place of the seamen who would certainly walk off the ship when their demands were refused.
This time was different, though. The crew refused to leave the ship or cast anchor. For three days the vessel remained tied up, the crew performing all its usual duties except to uncoil the heavy ropes restraining the ship.
"Mutiny!" and "Striking Seamen Face Charges of Mutiny" read the headlines. Editors and readers fumed at the strikers and especially at "mutineer" Curran. The strike became such a serious issue nationally, that on the third day Frances Perkins, secretary of labor, called from Washington to speak with Curran personally.
"You'll have to sail that ship out of there," she told the tough leader.
"Not until the crew gets some recognition as human beings," was Curran's answer.
After more conversation Mrs. Perkins finally asked: "Well, Joe, what is it that you want?"
By the time the conversation ended, Curran had promised to do his best to get the crew to sail the ship back to New York. For her part, the labor secretary promised to use her influence to make certain that none of the crew were "intimidated, coerced or persecuted" when they reached home port. As the ship made its way down the coast, the Inter-national Seamen's Union (ISU) and the ship owners negotiated a $5 monthly increase for sailors on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. But the moment the California docked, her next sailing was canceled and the seamen were fired. In Washington the secretary of commerce wanted to bring mutiny charges against the crew, but President Roosevelt backed Mrs. Perkins's promise and they were not molested.
Now the smoldering fires of revolt burst into flame. When the $5 increase was approved, the ISU officials failed to press for an even more important demand: that all hiring be done through the union hall and that the agreement provide overtime pay. Heading the revolt against "indignity and exploitation" was able-bodied seaman, Joe Curran.
Joe was born in New York City in 1906. His father died when he was a small boy and he was boarded with a family in New Jersey. After finishing sixth grade he took a series of jobs and in 1922, at the age of sixteen, decided that he wanted to go to sea in a big ship. What he found below deck astonished him. In many ships the crews' quarters were filthy, rat-infested holes, food was often putrid, hours were excessively long and the pay was minimal. Worse yet, for the privilege of working under these conditions, a person had to bribe those in charge of hiring seamen. Little wonder that sailors on all coasts were rebelling. Their union, the ISU, was doing little to help them, and many members even accused their union officials of participating in some of the unethical and illegal hiring practices.
The rest of the story can be found in the history books and the National Maritime Union's publication, On a True Course, The Story of the National Maritime Union, AFL-CIO. On May 3, 1937, the rank-and- file seamen held a mass rally in New York and founded the National Maritime Union of America. It had a strong democratic constitution, which included a provision rooting out discrimination. With Joe Curran at its head, the new union encountered many difficulties, especially with communists. But eventually, the organization expanded and built a splendid headquarters building in New York and modem halls in several other port cities. In addition, it enabled its membership to win good wages, better working conditions, and generous pension, health, and welfare benefits.
