ABSTRACT
The port of New York was a dynamic part of the economy. Covering 700 miles of shoreline, with 300 deep-sea piers, the port handled as much cargo as all the other US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts ports combined. As many as 200,000 New York city area workers were directly employed in the longshore industry; not counting insurance and financial companies. The majority of the dock workers in London were of Irish extraction. Labour was regulated to avoid inefficiencies and turnover under two schemes run by the Ministry of Transport and the National Dock Labour Corporation. The huge size of the port, and the lack of formal channels of communication between trade union locals encouraged a form of local independence. In an earlier 1942 Department of Labor report it was found that New York longshoremen endured a range of injuries. The report found that the majority of injuries occurred through 'handling', and 'struck by falling bodies'.
