When hundreds of longshoremen and their families got together this week in Overtown with live music, vendors, and matching shirts, they weren't just celebrating any event — they were commemorating nearly a century of labor that built the "Cruise Capital of the World" in Miami.
The celebration on Monday highlighted the bustling modern operations of PortMiami, along with a deeply rooted history of civil rights, economic survival, and union brotherhood.
The story of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local 1416 began during the Great Depression.
Founded by a group of 10 Black men in 1936, Local 1416 stands out historically as one of the few labor unions of its era that allowed Black members.
Before organizing, these waterfront workers faced grueling conditions and rock-bottom wages. In 1936, longshoremen were paid a mere 35 cents an hour. There was no compensation for working overtime.
By unionizing, the 10 founders established a foothold for Black workers to demand fair compensation for the dangerous, backbreaking work of loading and unloading cargo and cruise ships, and operating heavy machinery like forklifts and cranes.
“We went from Biscayne Boulevard to PortMiami, and we just keep growing,” said Lovette McGill, the event coordinator for Local 1416.
“Everything that comes in America comes through the port. Some of it over the road, but most of it through the port. So we contributed in many ways to the economic success of our community," McGill said.
McGill added that the union has served as the “economic engine of Greater Miami for over the last 90 years.”
Preparing the next generation
Today, the ILA is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing over 85,000 workers. Local 1416 accounts for 1,119 of those members, continuing the legacy of its founders.
For Vilna Sweeting, a second-year longshoreman and mule operator originally from the Bahamas, joining the historic union fulfilled a lifelong dream.
“From the time I was small... you always wanted work on the port,” Sweeting told WLRN. “It's a great experience. I would suggest to anyone who wants to make a different change in their life from freedom or they love the waterfront, this is the place for them to actually come and explore.”
From its humble beginnings on Biscayne Boulevard to the massive industrial hub of modern PortMiami, the longshoremen's union has remained the one constant over the last nine decades.
Interim Port Director Frederick Wong Jr. credited Miami's global standing to the history and work ethic of the union.
“We would not be here on the map without our international local,” Wong said. “Whether it's raining, whether it's sunny, whether it's cold, they're there on the dock working it.”
