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Indeed, after its massive, though only partially successful strike in late 1932, it
hardly paused, launching several actions in early 1933. Then on July 7,1933, the
ACW call a one-day strike of all its members to insure that the Baltimore men's
clothing industry immediately and fully instituted the NRA code provisions
benefiting workers. In doing this, and in its participation in the struggle to bring the
L. Grief and Brothers garment company into compliance with the NRA, the ACW
became the only labor organization in Baltimore to attempt to systematically affect
the local implementation of the NRA. Furthermore, its efforts to organize, to gain
recognition, and to raise wages continued apace through 1934 and 1935, somewhat
aided by toothless provisions of the NRA guaranteeing workers' rights to a union.
The Baltimore ACW emerged from the NRA period considerably strengthened,
and, as before, the most important pillar of Baltimore trade unionism.

The second feature to be mentioned about the Baltimore trade-union
struggle of the NRA period has to do with the waterfront and is partially a
reiteration of points already made. As we have seen the seamen of Baltimore were

-**!

locally the most active trade-union force during the national NRA strike wave of
later 1933, occasionally involving longshoremen as well in their struggles. Also as
we have seen, the Baltimore Soviet carried the strike wave on the docks to even
greater heights during the first half of 1934, and the strike activity continued even
after the demise of the Soviet. Indeed, even after the disbanding of the Marine
Workers Industrial Union in early 1935, activity continued in Baltimore harbor at a
comparatively high level with, for example, a tugboat and barge strike in February
that tied up the whole port for days, a ships' radio operator's strike later that same
month, and a continuing series of waterfront job actions strikes through the
remained of the year. While marine workers did not have the level of organization
of the clothing workers (although the locals of the International Longshoremen's
Association maintained their strength during these years), throughout the NRA
period as a whole, this waterfront continued to be one of the two most important