Photography

Starting in the 1970s, Frank Silva and Brian Nelson—both ship’s clerks and founding members of the Waterfront Writers and Artists (WWA)—shot thousands of photographs at Bay Area ports. Collected here for the first time, these images capture a pivotal transformation in waterfront labor, documenting the shift from break-bulk cargo handling to containerization and the widespread use of heavy machinery. Their work illustrates not just a technological evolution but a profound change in the rhythms of dock work, the structure of waterfront labor, and the camaraderie among longshore workers.

Silva and Nelson’s photographs offer an insider’s perspective, shaped by their deep familiarity with dockyard operations and their fellow workers. They documented everything from cargo being loaded and unloaded by hand in the early years to the increasing presence of automation and standardized shipping containers. But beyond the work itself, their images reveal moments of levity, exhaustion, and solidarity—dockworkers taking breaks, arguing over union matters, or engaging in political activism. These photographs remind us that the waterfront was not just a space of industry but also one of social exchange, cultural expression, and class struggle.

A defining theme of this collection is the role of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in shaping the character of waterfront labor on the U.S. West coast. The images capture ILWU workers in action, whether maneuvering cargo or rallying for labor rights, reflecting the union’s deep commitment to worker protections and its response to the pressures of globalization and automation. Many of these photographs were first presented as part of the WWA’s multimedia slideshow, Longshoremen at Work, which was shown at readings and public events throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Though the WWA ceased its formal activities in the 1990s, its visual archive remains an invaluable historical document. Both Silva and Nelson have continued to produce new work well into the 21st century, with Silva exhibiting his waterfront images at venues such as the San Francisco State Labor Archives, the American Labor Museum in New Jersey, and the University of Washington. His photographs, along with those taken by Nelson and others in the WWA, preserve the experience of longshore work in a period marked by enormous transition—when the culture of manual labor collided with the forces of mechanization and corporate restructuring.

To view selected images, click through below.