The wordstevedore (/ˈstiːvɪˌdɔːr/) originated inPortugal orSpain, and entered theEnglish language through its use bysailors.[3] It started as aphonetic spelling ofestivador (Portuguese) orestibador (Spanish), meaninga man who loads ships and stows cargo, which was the original meaning ofstevedore (though there is a secondary meaning of "a man who stuffs" in Spanish); compareLatinstīpāre meaningto stuff, as into fill with stuffing. In Ancient and Modern Greek, the verb στοιβάζω (stivazo) means pile up.[4][5] InGreat Britain andIreland, people who load and unload ships are usually calleddockers; inAustralia, they are calledstevedores,dockworkers orwharfies; and, in theUnited States andCanada, the termlongshoreman, derived fromman-along-the-shore (oralongshore +man), is used.[6][7] Before the extensive use of container ships and shore-based handling machinery in the United States,longshoremen referred exclusively to the dockworkers, whilestevedores, part of a separatetrade union, worked on the ships operating theircranes and moving cargo.
Dockworkers, also known as longshoremen and stevedores, have existed since ancient times. The role of dockworkers has evolved significantly over the centuries as maritime trade has grown and modernized:
Medieval period: In theMiddle Ages, dockworkers played a crucial role in the trade networks ofEurope.The Hanseatic League, a powerful trading confederation in Northern Europe, employed dockworkers to handle goods at major ports likeLübeck andBruges.[12]
Industrial Revolution:The Industrial Revolution broughtsteam-powered ships andrailways, leading to increased trade volumes and the need for more efficient handling of cargo. Dockworkers organized into unions to protect worker rights and improve working conditions, leading to the formation of organizations such as theInternational Longshoremen's Association in the United States.[13]
Containerization: The latter 20th century saw the introduction ofcontainerization, which revolutionized the shipping industry by standardizing how goods were transported, leading to faster turnaround times and increased efficiency. Dockworker use declined by 90%, with those remaining principally operating heavy machinery such as cranes.[14][15] A dramatic increase inglobal trade was seen, a result of improved technology and liberalized trade treaties.[16]
Loading and unloading ships requires knowledge of the operation of loading equipment, the proper techniques for lifting and stowingcargo, and the correct handling ofhazardous materials. In addition, workers must be physically strong and able to follow orders attentively. Many longshoremen are needed to unload a ship. A ship can only be at a port for a limited amount of time, so their work must be completed quickly.
In earlier days before the introduction ofcontainerization, men who loaded and unloaded ships had to tie down cargoes with rope. A type ofstopper knot is called thestevedore knot. Securely tying up parcels of goods is calledstevedore lashing orstevedore knotting. While loading ageneral cargo vessel, they usedunnage, which are pieces of wood (or nowadays sometimes strong inflatabledunnage bags) set down to keep the cargo out of any water that might be lying in the hold or are placed asshims between cargo crates forload securing.
Today, the vast majority of non-bulk cargo is transported inintermodal containers.[17] The containers arrive at a port by truck, rail, or another ship and are stacked in the port's storage area. When the vessel that will be transporting them arrives, the containers it is offloading are unloaded by a crane. The containers either leave the port by truck or rail or are stored until they are placed on another ship. Once the ship is offloaded, the containers it leaves with are brought to the dock by truck. A crane lifts the containers from the trucks onto the ship. As the containers pile up on the ship, the workers connect them to the vessel and the other already-placed containers. The jobs involved include the crane operators, the workers who connect the containers to the ship and each other, the truck drivers who transport the containers from the dock and storage area, the workers who track the containers in the storage area as they are loaded and unloaded, as well as various supervisors. Those workers at the port who handle and move the containers are likely to be considered stevedores or dockworkers.
Before containerization, freight was often handled with alongshoreman’s hook, a tool which became emblematic of the profession (mainly on the west coast of the United States and Canada).[18]
Traditionally, stevedores had no fixed job but would arrive at the docks in the morning seeking employment for the day.London dockers called this practicestanding on the stones,[19] while in the United States, it was referred to asshaping up or assembling for theshape-up.[20][21]
Dock workers have been a prominent part of the modernlabor movement.[22]
The material from Malcolm Johnson's investigative series was fictionalized and used as a basis for the influential filmOn the Waterfront (1954), starringMarlon Brando as a longshoreman, and the working conditions on the docks figure significantly in the film's plot.On the Waterfront was a critical and commercial success that received twelveAcademy Award nominations and won eight, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Brando, Best Supporting Actress forEva Marie Saint, and Best Director forElia Kazan. TheAmerican Film Institute ranked it the 8th-greatest American movie of all time in 1997 and 19th in 2007.[24]
PlaywrightArthur Miller was involved in the early stages of the development ofOn the Waterfront; his playA View from the Bridge (1955) also deals with the troubled life of a longshoreman.[25]
Inseason 2 of theHBO seriesThe Wire, which first aired in 2003, the Stevedore Union and its members working in Baltimore, particularlyFrank Sobotka, figure prominently in the second season's story.[26][27]
The 2013 video gameGrand Theft Auto V features a character, Floyd Hebert, who works as a longshoreman at the city port. One of the main characters,Trevor Philips, uses Floyd's job to prepare a cargo ship robbery during the game's storyline.
^Kim, Kap Hwan; Günther, Hans-Otto, eds. (2007).Container Terminals and Cargo Systems: Design, Operations Management, and Logistics Control Issues. Springer.
^Herbert, Daniel (2012). "'It Is What It Is': The Wire and the Politics of Anti-Allegorical Television Drama".Quarterly Review of Film and Video.29 (3):191–202.doi:10.1080/10509200903120047.S2CID155014315.
Velasco e Cruz, Maria Cecília (2006). "Puzzling Out Slave Origins in Rio de Janeiro Port Unionism: The 1906 Strike and the Sociedade de Resistência dos Trabalhadores em Trapiche e Café".Hispanic American Historical Review.86 (2):205–245.doi:10.1215/00182168-2005-002.
