Civil Rights & Labor History Consortium | Photo and Document Gallery | The ILWU and Longshore Workers | Jerry Tyler Photo Collection

Born in 1911 in Iowa, Jerry Tyler left home during the Great Depression and lived on the road, working odd jobs, before sailing with the Merchant Marine during WWII. During the war, Jerry was introduced to trade unionism through the Marine Cooks and Stewards Association of the Pacific (MCS), and joined the Communist Party (he left the Party later in the 1950s). As the elected secretary of the CIO Industrial Union Council in the late 1940s, Jerry produced a twice weekly radio program, "Reports from Labor." Later, Jerry went to work longshoring with Seattle's ILWU Local 19, serving as vice president of the local in the mid-1960s. He retired in 1974. A writer for much of his life, he authored pulp stories in the late 1930s and 40s, wrote a stewards department newsletter for the MCS, and edited "The Hook" newsletter for Local 19. Jerry passed away in 2005. Most of the photos in the collection date from the 1940s, and are courtesy of Jerry's daughter, Judy A. Johnson.Copyright(c) Reserved. See Waterfront Workers History Project