Photo by Frank Wilder.


Soon a 10-foot tall statue of Harry Bridges will stand watch over the San Francisco waterfront. The project has gotten as far as raising money, getting political support, and building a three-foot tall model of the statue in clay, Local 10’s Richard Mead said.

“Now we’re consolidating our forces politically to get the model approved for the Harry Bridges Plaza,” Mead said. “We put authorization for the statue into the Port Commission’s resolution naming the plaza after Harry. We’re going to the Board of Supervisors and Port to get this design approved.”

The Committee for the Harry Bridges Plaza began its work with the Port and the City a decade ago to name a special spot for Bridges in honor of the contributions of maritime workers to the city. The spot chosen is by the Ferry Bldg., within sight of where the “shape-up hall” used to be. Before the ILWU, and the union hiring hall, longshoremen used to beg for jobs there.

The Committee has raised $100,000, including $10,000 from Local 10’s Ted “Whitey” Kelm, who is also an actor known for portraying the plant manager in the film “Norma Rae.” Grif Fariello chairs the committee, Richard Mead is secretary and Roxanne Mead is treasurer. The total project will need as much as $500,000 to cast the statue in bronze, insure it, and provide perpetual maintenance.

—Tom Price