ON THE WATERFRONT

CULTURAL, HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL SETTING  Based upon a series of newspaper articles written by Malcolm Johnson about trouble on the New York waterfront in 1949  Articles exposed murder, extortion and standover tactics infesting the docks  A congressional Inquiry was set up to hear evidence from the dockworkers in an attempt to clean up the waterfront  The characters of Terry, Johnny Friendly and the crusading priest, Father Barry, were based on real people  The film revealed an ugly, gritty side of American society and politics. It was an immediate success and very popular much like the Underbelly series is in Australia today

WHAT ARE UNIONS?  An organization of workers joined to protect their common interests and improve their working conditions.  People create or join unions when they feel they are being treated unfairly by their employers.

MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA  Unions in Australia include the Maritime Union of Australia which Maritime Union of Australia represents around 12,000 Australian men and women - stevedoring workers (wharfies), seafarers, divers, port workers and office staff.  This is the union Terry from ‘On the Waterfront’ would be a part of if he worked in Australia. In the film, he is part of the International Longshoremen’s Union of which Johnny Friendly is the boss.

AUSTRALIAN WORKERS UNION  View the recent video created by the AWU about wage equity. View the recent video created by the AWU about wage equity.   What is the role of the union in this clip?

ROLE OF UNIONS Unions represent members for the following sorts of issues:  wages (payment at the correct rate, penalty rates etc, wage rises)  conditions (eg hours of work, breaks, shift times, workplace facilities)  health and safety at work (more people die from work injuries than on the roads)  job security  discrimination and harassment  unfair dismissal

MAY DAY CLIP   What does this clip tell you about the values and purpose of unions?

EUREKA FLAG- SYMBOL OF UNIONISM IN AUSTRALIA

SLOGANS YOU MIGHT HEAR FROM A UNIONIST  ‘The workers united will never be defeated’  ‘An injury to one is an injury to all’  ‘Solidarity Forever’  ‘A victory for one is a victory for all’

FATHER BARRY  Some of these sentiments are echoed in ‘On the Waterfront’ by Father Barry. He is based on a real person, Father John M. Corridan who campaigned against corruption on the docks in New York in the 1950’s.  Watch the clip again 

IN ‘ON THE WATERFRONT’  While unions are there to benefit employees, there are cases of corruption within unions and this is what the film centres around.  A Waterfront Crime Commission was set up in 1953 to investigate corruption in the International Longshoremen’s Union.  Union bosses had the power to decide who worked on any given day.  Those who did work had to pay kickbacks to the Union Bosses- in the film- Johnny Friendly. Those who didn’t work were encouraged to take loans from the Union which had high interest rates.

IN ‘ON THE WATERFRONT’  In the film, workers such as Joey Doyle, were reporting on such corruption which made them targets for murder.

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS  What is a union?  Why do people join unions?  What is an example of a union?  What values do unions have?  In what ways does the union exploit its members in the film?