By Dan Pasley / Harry Bridges News
Edward “Eddie” Thayne was born on June 22, 1904 in Washington, Utah, a town of approximately 300 people. Thayne lived in Utah until he was 18 years old. He and a friend worked in Las Vegas as miners for American Borax (Thayne’s first union job) before continuing to Los Angeles where he worked as a grocery clerk, deliveryman and drove a horse-drawn milk wagon. He returned to Utah briefly before joining two of his brothers on the docks in Wilmington in 1925.
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| Eddie Thayne |
Thayne was among the union longshore workers who gathered on May 15, 1934, during the waterfront strike that established the union, to march with the pickets to the stockade where strike-breakers were being quartered in contravention of the articles governing the city’s leases. At the first indication of a demonstration, the private guards opened fire on unarmed union members, killing two. John Knudsen lingered for a few days, but Dickie Parker, who had just joined the union the day before, was dead almost immediately.
Thayne was a charter member of ILWU Local 13 in Wilmington, Calif. As a Mormon family man, Thayne believed in peaceful picketing and no foul language on the line. He learned his union beliefs from an Englishman who told him that “the greatest thing in the world is unionism. Every worker needs a union for better wages and working conditions,” Thayne recalled, “I didn’t know what a union was until then.”
Thayne retired after 54 years of dedicated service to his union. His wife, Pearl Habert Thayne and his son Ronald Edward have since passed away.
On Aug. 1, 2004, Thayne received his lifetime service award from Harry Bridges Institute. More than 300 well wishers gathered to honor this man who had witnessed a century of union struggle, including tremendous heartbreaks and wonderful victories.
The Living Newspaper, directed by Theresa Larkin, presented a 20 minute dramatic reading in the actual words of Eddie Thayne, taken from interviews and writings. His words revealed great perception of the changing labor movement.
Thayne died on Jan. 23, 2005 at the age of 100 years and 7 months.
