When one is first learning boating, there seems to be an endless confusion of terms, procedures, and rules to be memorized. Many of these are critical to safety, and over the years boaters have invented various little mnemonics to help them navigate the complexities.

The "Friends of Labor" web site exists to share local perspectives on issues of importance to the harbor community. We're family, friends, homeowners and business people from throughout the Los Angeles harbor area who support the tenants of "live better, work union, shop local." Our intentions are to provide factual information on the issues at hand, to respond to many of the misleading stories popping up on anti-labor web sites, and to offer an alternate opinion to articles in print publications that are under increasing influence from major retail groups.

Contract negotiations between the ILWU and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) in 2002 are what inspired our group to form.

ILA Rank and File is an organization of ILA members who came together around our recent contract negotiations to fight for a just contract.

The Jones Act was written to help injured seamen. In addition, the Jones Act also protects U.S. interests within its own waters and ensures that the United States maintains a fleet of merchant ships.

La Amistad - The Amistad Revolt was a shipboard uprising off the coast of Cuba that carried itself, inadvertently but fatefully, to the United States--where the Amistad Captives set off an intense legal, political, and popular debate over the slave trade, slavery, race, Africa, and ultimately the United States of America.

Many years ago the fledgling Seafarers International Union adopted the wearing of white hats to signify that they were untouched by the criminal element that infested the Longshormen's Union. We know for certain that this is a fraud and have suspected same for a number of years. Below you will find information from a member of the American Maritime Officers Union concerning donations made to two Mafia members by both the Maritime Defense League and the American Maritime Officers Legal Defense Fund. These donations of seafarers hard earned money were made without permission or knowledge of the rank and file members of those unions.

My current news, issues and information page. Updated when I have a need to comment on current events. (It was daily during the war on the wharfies dispute.) Selected as the Labor website of the week, and Leftist and Progressive Site of the week during April 1998.

An information source about the trade and transportation community.

Kronstadt - The Story of the Heroic Struggle of the People of Kronstadt Against the Communist Party, with a Map of Kronstadt, Its Forts and the Gulf of Finland.