ilwu Collection Joseph Grosso

Untitled #7 [Shape Up]

The bane of the longshore workers’ existence — the so-called “shape up” for a day’s work — was also a feature that distinguished the two unions on the opposite coasts. The practice reeked of favoritism and even payoffs and was a major reason for the revolt of the west coast longshoremen, who were able to replace the shape up with the union hiring hall.

Unsigned oil painting by James Grosso, circa 1955.

See this image in the Art from the Waterfront exhibit