Harry Bridges, a native of Australia, led the longshore workers of the Pacific Coast from 1934 to 1977, becoming president of what is now the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in 1937. Bridges led the union through major strikes in 1934, 1936-37, 1948, and 1971-72. As union leader, he could be both a Marxist militant and a pragmatic realist. He also emphasized rank-and-file democracy and led the union to develop a unique form of arbitration. In the late 1950s, he led his union to accept containerization in return for job guarantees. On four occasions between 1939 and 1955, federal officials sought unsuccessfully to prove Bridges was a Communist and hence subject to deportation, leading to two appeals to the Supreme Court.
https://sites.google.com/site/robertwcherny/