New York City tugboat strike of 1946

NYC tugboat strike of 1946
Part of Labor Unions
U.S. Navy tugboat docks at the Brooklyn navy yard pier as a commercial tugboat departs to resume duties following tugboat operators' strike
Date	Feb 1– Feb 14, 1946 (78 years ago)
Location	United States
Number
3,500 tugboat workers

During the strike wave of 1945–46 a strike of almost 3,500 tugboat workers occurred on Monday February 1, 1946. The expectations of the strike were to bring the world's busiest harbor to a virtual standstill. Captain William Bradley, president of Local 333, United Maritime Division, International Longshoremen's Association, stated two days before the actual strike that a strike vote had been taken the previous week-end, during a breakdown of negotiations with the Employers Wage Adjustment Committee, which represents the owners and operators in this port.^[1]

The union's demands were in the form of substantial pay increases, a reduction in work hours, two weeks' paid vacation per year, and an end to paying for their transportation home when relieved of duty away from their home port. "They impose on us at every turn", the men said. "Sometimes we are relieved on our boats as far away as New Haven and Providence, and we have to come home at our expense."^[2]

The average hourly pay scale at that time on the tugboats was as follows: Captains, $1.10; engineers, $1.06; firemen, 72 cents; extra firemen, oilers, deckhands and cooks, 67 cents an hour. The men had demanded an "over the board" increase to $1.35 for all unlicensed ratings, and from $1.57 to $1.83 for the captains. They also demanded two weeks' vacation with pay, and a reduction in the work week to 40 hours from 48 hours.^[2]

James P. McAllister, with a two-day growth of beard, stood inside with the employer's wage adjustment committee, all admittedly groggy from the long negotiations. "It's still the same", he said "We are getting pretty disgusted; we've been at this since last October."^[3] The apparent hopelessness of the situation was based on the fact that the negotiation committee, whose recommendations were flatly rejected by the militant members of the Union the previous Friday, lacks the power needed to close and agreement, or to notify the employers what minimum terms the union would accept. Their position is that the employers are unable to offer more money and as to the 40-hour work, they see that as a way to build up more overtime^[3]

The city of New York made drastic moves to offset the effects that the mayor declared would come to fruition because of the strike. Mayor O'Dwyer announced that the city would have oil and coal go on a priority system since the tugboats that deliver them would be out. The city would endure brownouts and the subway system would go heat-less. All public schools would be shut down effective February 10, and many of them would be used for hospital purposes or to house persons who are without fuel. All coal and oil would be barred from places of amusement, including theatres and movie houses; fuel would be strictly rationed to public utilities, hospitals and other institutions. Interior temperatures would be cut to 60 degrees, except in buildings that house the sick and aged. Finally a brownout would be ordered, shutting off all outdoor signs and dimming street lights where-ever possible.^[4]

The mayor's over-reaction to the situation was solved one week later when the striking tugboat workers returned to work on February 14, 1946. This was accomplished because both sides agreed to a three-man arbitration panel to determine the final outcome of the contract negotiations. Most people agreed that the situation would most likely have been solved sooner or not happened at all if a clear-cut policy on wages and prices had not been so long in coming from Washington.^[5][6]