Joe Curran and the National Maritime Union, 1936-1945

Abstract

This work examines the early history of the National Maritime Union and traces Joe Curran's rise to prominance as a major labor leader. It focuses on the East coast seamen's short-lived unity under Joe Curran and the National Maritime Union and describes the movement's subsequent division into separate entities. The work, after surveying early twentieth century East Coast maritime history, discusses the following topics; the 1936 and 1937 East coast maritime strikes; the Mariners Club, the Five Pointers, the 1939 Tanker strike, the National Maritime Union during World War II and the union's postwar programs.