The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is the largest
union of
maritime workers in
North America, representing upwards of 65,000
longshoremen on the
Atlantic and
Gulf Coasts,
Great Lakes, major
U.S. rivers,
Puerto Rico and Eastern
Canada.
Organized in
1892 along the U.S. Great Lakes, delegates from eleven
ports convened in
Detroit where they adopted the by-laws of the longshoremen’s
Chicago local and the name
National Longshoremen’s Association of The United States. By
1895, the name was changed to International Longshoremen’s Association to reflect the growing numbers of Canadian members. Shortly thereafter, the ILA affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor (AFL).
ILA is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations; the
Canadian Labour Congress and the world-wide
International Transport Workers' Federation. Additionally, the
International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots; the
United Marine Division Tugboat Workers and the
New York State Supreme Court Officers are affiliated with the ILA.
Most information in this write up is from http://www.ilaunion.org