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Cartoon of a robot loading a ship
Currently on display
Not a part of the official Smithsonian Collection
This cartoon appeared in the Proceedings of the Fourteenth Biennial Convention of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union at Honolulu, Hawaii, April 3-7, 1961. Drawn by Phil Drew, it was first published in The Dispatcher, the monthly newspaper of the ILWU. The cartoon reflects the anxieties of longshoremen facing the mechanization of their jobs in the 1960s by depicting a robot loading containers onto a ship. Two bewildered, white-capped longshoremen look at each other in the foreground.
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Physical Description |
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Newspaper
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Details |
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Locations: |
California, Oregon, Washington
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History |
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The Mechanization and Modernization Agreement of 1961 was a landmark labor settlement between the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU), representing all West Coast longshoremen, and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), representing the shipping and stevedore companies. The M&M Agreement "modernized" longshore work by eliminating some of the most restrictive work rules and "mechanized" the waterfront by permitting employers to introduce new machines and processes for getting the work done more efficiently. In return, the longshoremen were guaranteed lifetime employment in the industry, with any losses in wages covered by a fund established with payments from the employers. For years after this agreement was forged, longshoremen continued to feel threatened by the introduction of new technologies and systems, particularly containerization.
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Related People, Places, and Events |
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Manufacturer
Phil Drew
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