AnPETER International TURNBULL Comparative AND DAVID Study SAPSFORDof Conflict on the Waterfront Hitting the Bricks: An International Comparative Study of Conflict on the Waterfront PETER TURNBULL* and DAVID SAPSFORD Although many longshoremen have a deserved reputation for militancy, the waterfront has been remarkably peaceful in some countries. The propensity of longshoremen to strike is explored in a historical and international comparative context, looking beyond industry-level variables to determine the nature and causes of industrial action. The incidence of strikes on the waterfront depended ultimately on the propriety of labor regulation, most notably the operation of dif- ferent “dock labor schemes” in combination with union leadership, management policy, and the efficacy of dispute resolution procedures. Introduction Whatever their nomenclature—longshoremen, dockers, wharfies, or watersiders—the people who work in the world’s ports have a reputation for militancy. Their proclivity to strike was noted by Kerr and Siegel (1954), who in their seminal study of the interindustry propensity to strike ranked longshoremen alongside miners, sailors, and loggers as one of the “isolated masses” of society, people with an “independent spirit” who perform dangerous, dirty, and unpleasant work that inclines them to be more vigorous and combative. More detailed studies of waterfront labor relations have likewise noted the importance of “certain widely prevalent conditions of dockwork” that combine to “produce a universal *Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University and Management School, University of Lancaster. E-mail:
[email protected]. The financial support of both the Leverhulme Trust and the Economic and Social Research Council is gratefully acknowledged. We are grateful to Paul Edwards, David Levine, and three anonymous referees for their comments on earlier drafts of this article.