Harry Lundeberg
Encyclopedia
Harrald Olaf Lundeberg was a merchant seaman and an American
labor
leader.
, Norway
at age 14, joined the Seamen's Union of Australia
in 1917 and transferred into the Sailors' Union of the Pacific
in Seattle in 1923. He sailed for 21 years on sailing ships and steamers of a variety of flags, eventually earning American citizenship.
In 1934, Lundeberg was sailing as third mate
aboard the SS James W. Griffiths. In the course of the 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
, Lundeberg walked off his ship in Oakland
in support of the strike. At its height, at least 8,000 west coast sailors joined the strike. On July 30, 1934, as the strike came close to conclusion, Lundeberg was elected Sailor's Union of the Pacific patrolman for the Seattle
area.
In April 1935 at a conference of maritime unions in Seattle, it was decided to establish an umbrella union to represent the membership of the International Seaman's Union as well as maritime officers and longshoremen. This umbrella organization was called the Maritime Federation and Lundeberg was named its first president. Later that year, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer of SUP.
Over the next two years, the International Seamen's Union experienced intense difficulties, including the revocation of their charter and the loss of 30,000 seamen in July 1937 to the Congress of Industrial Organizations
' newly formed National Maritime Union
. A month later, William Green
, president of the American Federation of Labor
, took over the ISU with the goal of rebuilding it under the AFL. Lundeberg, who was now also head of the Sailor's Union of the Pacific, oversaw this reorganization. On October 15, 1938 at an AFL convention in Houston, Texas
, Green handed Lundeberg the Seafarer's International Union charter. The new union numbered some 7,000 members on the east and gulf coasts.
Lundeberg served as president of SIU from 1938 until his death from a heart attack in a San Francisco hospital on January 28, 1957.
In testimony before the Canadian Parliament in 1996, David Broadfoot of the Canadian Merchant Navy Association recalled that in 1946, "Our government imported a thug, a real heavy-duty gangster from Brooklyn (Hal C. Banks), to smash our union and bring in the Seafarers' International Union... which was no different from the Teamsters at its worst and no different from the longshoremen's association at its worst... They came on our ships with baseball bats and bicycle chains. That's how they introduced their union to Canada."
"Tuesday June 18, 1996". http://www.parl.gc.ca. http://www.parl.gc.ca/35/Archives/committees352/defa/evidence/06_96-06-18/defa06_blk101.html. Retrieved March 16, 2008
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
labor
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
leader.
Biography
Lundeberg left his home in OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
at age 14, joined the Seamen's Union of Australia
Seamen's Union of Australia
The Seamen's Union of Australia was the principal trade union for merchant seamen in Australia from 1876 to the 1991. Australian seamen were forerunners of maritime trade unionism. Efforts to form trade unions amongst merchant seamen trading out of Australian ports can be traced back to 1874, with...
in 1917 and transferred into the Sailors' Union of the Pacific
Sailors' Union of the Pacific
The Sailors' Union of the Pacific founded on March 6, 1885 in San Francisco, California is an American labor union of mariners, fishermen and boatmen working aboard U.S. flag vessels....
in Seattle in 1923. He sailed for 21 years on sailing ships and steamers of a variety of flags, eventually earning American citizenship.
In 1934, Lundeberg was sailing as third mate
Third Mate
A Third Mate or Third Officer is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The third mate is a watchstander and customarily the ship's safety officer and fourth-in-command...
aboard the SS James W. Griffiths. In the course of the 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike lasted eighty-three days, triggered by sailors and a four-day general strike in San Francisco, and led to the unionization of all of the West Coast ports of the United States...
, Lundeberg walked off his ship in Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in support of the strike. At its height, at least 8,000 west coast sailors joined the strike. On July 30, 1934, as the strike came close to conclusion, Lundeberg was elected Sailor's Union of the Pacific patrolman for the Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
area.
In April 1935 at a conference of maritime unions in Seattle, it was decided to establish an umbrella union to represent the membership of the International Seaman's Union as well as maritime officers and longshoremen. This umbrella organization was called the Maritime Federation and Lundeberg was named its first president. Later that year, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer of SUP.
Over the next two years, the International Seamen's Union experienced intense difficulties, including the revocation of their charter and the loss of 30,000 seamen in July 1937 to the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
' newly formed National Maritime Union
National Maritime Union
The National Maritime Union was an American labor union founded in May 1937. It affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in July 1937...
. A month later, William Green
William Green (labor leader)
William Green was an American trade union leader. Green is best remembered for serving as the President of the American Federation of Labor from 1924 to 1952.-Early years:...
, president of the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
, took over the ISU with the goal of rebuilding it under the AFL. Lundeberg, who was now also head of the Sailor's Union of the Pacific, oversaw this reorganization. On October 15, 1938 at an AFL convention in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Green handed Lundeberg the Seafarer's International Union charter. The new union numbered some 7,000 members on the east and gulf coasts.
Lundeberg served as president of SIU from 1938 until his death from a heart attack in a San Francisco hospital on January 28, 1957.
Memorials
- There is a memorial sculpture to Harry Lundeberg at 450 Harrison Street in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, outside the entrance to the Sailors Union of the Pacific Hall. The sculpture consists of a bust of Lundeberg which sits on a marble pedestal in front of the building. On the pedestal is a plaque which reads: Harry Lundeberg - 1901–1957 - He was indeed a man who crowded into a short life no glittering promise, but unselfish service and general achievement for the course he called his own.
- In 1967, Paul HallPaul Hall (labor leader)Paul Hall was an American labor leader from Inglenook in Jefferson County, Alabama. He was a founding member and president of the Seafarers International Union from 1957 to 1980...
established the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Piney Point, MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
to give young people the chance for a career at sea. Since then, thousands of SIU members have advanced their skills, and thousands of young people from deprived backgrounds have found employment through the school. There is a memorial to Hary Lundeberg outside the Seaman's Hotel at the Seafarers Harry Lundeburg School of Seamanship.
Trivia
- Lundeberg's nickname was "The Lunchbox."
- Lundeberg was 6 feet 2½ inches tall and weighed 190 pounds
- Lundeberg was tattooed and "never ducked a waterfront strike or a dock brawl."
- Lundeberg had a longstanding feud with longshoreman's president Harry BridgesHarry BridgesHarry Bridges was an Australian-American union leader, in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union , a longshore and warehouse workers' union on the West Coast, Hawaii and Alaska which he helped form and led for over 40 years...
. - Lundeberg "once got a smashed jaw from a C.I.O.-swung baseball bat"
In testimony before the Canadian Parliament in 1996, David Broadfoot of the Canadian Merchant Navy Association recalled that in 1946, "Our government imported a thug, a real heavy-duty gangster from Brooklyn (Hal C. Banks), to smash our union and bring in the Seafarers' International Union... which was no different from the Teamsters at its worst and no different from the longshoremen's association at its worst... They came on our ships with baseball bats and bicycle chains. That's how they introduced their union to Canada."
"Tuesday June 18, 1996". http://www.parl.gc.ca. http://www.parl.gc.ca/35/Archives/committees352/defa/evidence/06_96-06-18/defa06_blk101.html. Retrieved March 16, 2008
See also
- Frank DrozakFrank DrozakFrank Drozak was an American labor leader. He was president of the Seafarers International Union from 1980 until his death in 1988. Drozak was also president of The AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department.-See also:* Michael Sacco...
- Andrew FurusethAndrew FurusethAndrew Furuseth of Romedal, Norway was a merchant seaman and an American labor leader. Furuseth was active in the formation of two influential maritime unions: the Sailors' Union of the Pacific and the International Seamen's Union, and served as the executive of both for decades.Furuseth was...
- Michael SaccoMichael SaccoMichael Sacco is an American labor leader from Brooklyn, New York. He was appointed as the president of the Seafarers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO in June 1988 by the SIUNA Executive Board....
- Paul Hall (labor leader)Paul Hall (labor leader)Paul Hall was an American labor leader from Inglenook in Jefferson County, Alabama. He was a founding member and president of the Seafarers International Union from 1957 to 1980...
Further reading
- Archie GreenArchie GreenArchie Green was a folklorist specializing in laborlore and American folk music. Devoted to understanding vernacular culture, he gathered and commented upon the speech, stories, songs, emblems, rituals, art, artifacts, memorials, and landmarks which constitute laborlore...
, Harry Lundeberg's Stetson & Other Nautical Treasures (Crockett, CA: Carquinez Press, 2006). ISBN 0-9744124-3-0