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Don’t let the name fool you.
Savannah’s International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1414 counts a fairly sizeable number of women — and moms — among their ranks. These formidable women are out to make their mark on their profession and the community — even if it means working on Mother’s Day.
You’ll find the moms of 1414 out on the docks, where they mostly drive the jockey trucks that move containers to and from the ships or work shipside during loading and unloading operations.
But all have been “in the hole” occasionally — an industry euphemism for working deep in the hold of the ship, helping to position cargo.
All have worked on Mother’s Day.
Some of the moms - nine women boasting 27 children and 31 grandkids among them — gathered last week on the terminal dock to talk about why they chose this less-than-traditional profession and what their hopes are for the future of our ports.
“For many of us, this is a family tradition — just not for the women in the family,” said Bernetta Lanier, whose father and husband are longshoremen.
The mother of two has been on the docks going on eight years and thinks women definitely bring a different perspective to the job.
“Most of us have been in other industries and come with lots of different skills,” Lanier said.
“We have been in public service, in the military, in blue-collar jobs and white-collar professions. And every one of us knows how to juggle work with raising children and managing households,” she said, smiling.
“It takes a lot to rattle us.”
In addition to driving jockey trucks and working shipside, the more than 100 female members of 1414 have operated cranes on the bulk and break-bulk ships at the port’s Ocean Terminal, driven heavy equipment and generally held their own with their male counterparts, they say.
And they were quick to point out that, while women in the longshore unions are a fairly recent phenomenon, women were on the docks as early as the mid 1800s, when masters would rent out their slaves — male and female — to work the busy wharves.
These days, working at the ports is a profession woman are free to choose, and more are doing just that, said Tommy Stokes III, president of ILA 1414.
“Our women bring a unique perspective to the docks and create a great balance in our workforce,” he said. “I’m proud of the job they’re doing.”
That said, the women agree this isn’t a job for everyone — male or female.
“The hours are irregular — depending on when ships come in — and the work can be demanding, both physically and mentally,” Lanier said.
It can also, on occasion, be dangerous.
Just ask 1414’s Alicia Blakely, who was seriously injured nearly 10 years ago while working in the hold of a ship, securing bulk loads of plywood to be lifted out by a crane.
One of the loads began to sway as the crane brought it up, causing a strap to break.
“That plywood came down like knives,” she told the Morning News in 2011. “If the young man who was with me hadn’t pushed me out of the way it would have
cut my head off.”
Instead, the falling boards sliced into her feet, nearly severing each one of them. She spent a month in the hospital and endured more than a half-dozen surgeries with screws, plates, pins and rods to get back on her feet.
“But I’m still here,” she said.
“This is the best organization I’ve ever worked for,” Blakely said. “There’s no way I could have endured what I did without the support of my 1414 sisterhood.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
It’s an attitude that seems infused throughout the entire group of women.
“It’s a wonderful career opportunity, where women can earn more than they would in other, more traditional, jobs,” Lanier said. “And it’s a good time to be a longshorewoman. Our president is extremely supportive of his women members and even the most veteran, old-school dockworkers are beginning to accept us.
“Now what we need to do is polish our image to reflect the caliber of women working here,” she said.
“It’s only a matter of time before ILA 1414 has its first a woman officer.”
Stokes agrees.
“I’ve been trying to open that door,” he said. “We have two young women who are currently training to be business agents, and we have another female member who narrowly lost an election to the board.
“I think if she were to run again, she very well could succeed.
“There’s a very good possibility we could see a female officer of 1414 in the near future.”