ILWU

What ILWU does

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a private, member-governed labor union founded in 1937, headquartered at 1188 Franklin Street in San Francisco, California. It represents approximately 42,000 workers across the U.S. West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada through a federated structure of locals (e.g., Local 10, Local 13, Local 23, Local 142), divisions (Coast Longshore, Hawaii Longshore, Inlandboatmen's Union, American Radio Association), and the Pacific Coast Pensioners Association. Its primary functional offering is collective bargaining representation under long-standing agreements such as the Pacific Coast Longshore and Clerks' Agreement (PCL&CA) with the Pacific Maritime Association, alongside grievance and arbitration handling, a hiring hall for fair work distribution, legal representation, ILWU-PMA pension and benefit plans, and political action.

ILWU's service portfolio is delivered through an organizing and education infrastructure rather than a commercial technology stack. Core operational assets include the ILWU Library and Archives (a digital collection of The Dispatcher newspaper, Voice of the Federation, and The Waterfront Worker), The Docker Podcast produced by rank-and-file longshore workers, and structured leadership pipelines such as the LEAD Institute, GAP (Grievance and Arbitration) Workshops, Young Workers Conference, Women's Conference, and Secretary-Treasurers Conference. The Supply Chain, Logistics, and Transport (SCLT) program extends representation down the supply chain, and the Walk the Coast sub-brand coordinates an annual fundraiser that has generated over $1.3 million for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.

ILWU is a non-profit organization funded primarily through recurring member dues. Its go-to-market model is organizing-driven: ILWU grows by building organizing committees, filing for NLRB certification, executing strikes, and bargaining first contracts while pursuing unfair labor practice charges. There is no public product pricing, no commercial software offering, no disclosed API, and no parent organization. The union operates through five regional offices (San Francisco HQ, Seattle, San Pedro, Vancouver BC, and Hawaii) and coordinates internationally with the ILA, IDC, ITF, and MUA.

Name

ILWU

Legal name

International Longshore and Warehouse Union

Website

https://ilwu.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is a member-governed labor union founded in 1937 that represents approximately 42,000 workers across the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada through collective bargaining, organizing, and worker representation in longshore, maritime, supply chain, and related industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Union Representation Services

NAICS

Professional Employer Organizations (561330)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Pay Card Programs & Earned Wage Access (EWA) Administration (BPACAIAK)

Keywords

• Labor union representation
• Collective bargaining services
• Longshore worker advocacy
• Maritime union services
• Worker organizing programs

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Dues: ILWU generates revenue through membership dues paid by workers across all locals. Dues support union operations, organizing, collective bargaining, member services, and political action.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ILWU is a labor union that represents approximately 42,000 workers across longshore, warehouse, maritime, hospitality, airport security, and supply chain logistics occupations on the U.S. West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada. It provides collective bargaining under agreements such as the Pacific Coast Longshore and Clerks' Agreement, grievance and arbitration handling, hiring hall work distribution, pension and benefit administration, member education programs (LEAD Institute, GAP Workshops), and political action and advocacy, funded through member dues.

Product overview

ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union) is a labor union representing workers in longshore, warehouse, and related industries across the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, Canada, and Alaska. The union does not offer commercial technology products or software services. Its offerings to members include representation, collective bargaining, education and training programs (such as GAP Workshops and the LEAD Institute), a newspaper (The Dispatcher), an archive of historical materials, and community initiatives like the Walk the Coast fundraiser benefiting Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Walk the Coast: Annual fundraising drive organized by the ILWU to support Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for pediatric cancer research.
• The Dispatcher
• LEAD Institute

Products and services

• ILWU Union Membership and Collective Bargaining Representation Core service offering of ILWU providing approximately 42,000 workers across longshore, warehouse, maritime, hospitality, airport security, and supply chain logistics occupations with collective bargaining representation under agreements such as the Pacific Coast Longshore and Clerks' Agreement (PCL&CA), grievance and arbitration handling, hiring hall work distribution, and member services. Funded through recurring membership dues.
• ILWU-PMA Benefit Plans Pension and benefit plans jointly administered by ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association, providing health, welfare, and pension coverage for represented longshore workers and their families.

Quantifiable outcome

• ILWU Walk the Coast has generated over $1.3 million in donations for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation pediatric cancer research
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Longshoremen's Association (ILA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2025ILWU joined hundreds of dockworkers, seafarers, and transportation workers from over 60 countries at the 'People over Profit: Anti-Automation Conference' organized by ILA and International Dockworkers Council (IDC) in Lisbon. Both unions share opposition to port automation and committed to building global alliance to protect jobs.
• International Dockworkers Council (IDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2025ILWU participated in IDC-coordinated global anti-automation conference. IDC General Coordinator Dennis Daggett co-leads the global alliance effort with ILA. Conference passed resolution opposing automation that results in job losses.
• International Transport Workers Federation (ITF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 September 2019ILWU participates in ITF Dockers' Section Occupational Safety and Health Working Group. Maritime unions worldwide coordinate through ITF to address shared employer strategies and international solidarity.
• Maritime Union of Australia (MUA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 September 2019ILWU supported MUA during the 1998 Patrick's dispute by refusing to unload cargo from Australian ships loaded by non-union workers. Australian courts later ruled the firing of MUA members illegal. Ongoing international solidarity relationship.
• Pacific Maritime Association (PMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey employer association with which ILWU bargains the Pacific Coast Longshore and Clerks' Agreement (PCL&CA). PMA donated $10,000 to ILWU Walk the Coast's Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation fundraiser and committed to encouraging member companies to participate.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• International Longshoremen's Association (ILA): East Coast sister longshore union representing approximately 85,000 dockworkers at Atlantic and Gulf ports. ILA is ILWU's most direct U.S. counterpart in longshore collective bargaining and is a core ILWU ally in the global anti-automation alliance.
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT): One of the largest U.S. labor unions with significant membership in port trucking, warehouse, and logistics—overlapping directly with ILWU's SCLT supply chain organizing footprint and competing for the same non-union logistics workers.

Broad incumbents

• International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF): Global federation of transport worker unions coordinating across maritime, dock, aviation, and road transport. ILWU participates in the ITF Dockers' Section and OH&S Working Group, making ITF the closest global institutional peer.
• Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA): Large North American construction and public-sector labor union. Adjacent in mission (representing manual labor) and overlapping with ILWU in organizing workers at industrial sites such as C&H Sugar (Local 6).
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): One of the largest U.S. labor unions representing service workers including airport security-adjacent roles. Comparable as a major private-sector union with sophisticated organizing, political action, and member benefit programs.
• UNITE HERE: U.S. union representing hotel, gaming, food service, and airport workers. Directly comparable to ILWU Local 142's hospitality/hotel portfolio in Hawaii and to ILWU's airport security representation through Local 9 at SeaTac.
• AFL-CIO: U.S. national federation of labor unions coordinating policy and political action across affiliated unions including ILWU. Comparable as the umbrella institutional peer for collective political and organizing infrastructure.
• United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW): Large U.S. union covering grocery, meatpacking, and food processing workers. Comparable as a private-sector union with member-benefit administration, collective bargaining focus, and overlapping industries (warehousing, food distribution).
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM): Major North American manufacturing, transportation, and aerospace union. Comparable as a multi-industry private-sector union with significant port-adjacent and logistics membership and a strong collective bargaining tradition.

Regional players

• Maritime Union of Australia (MUA): Australian maritime and dockworkers union with which ILWU has historic international solidarity ties (e.g., 1998 Patrick's dispute support). Operates a comparable dockworker/port worker mission in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ilwu
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ILWUDispatcher/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-longshore-warehouse-union

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ILWU