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Within the gangs, partnerships were typically maintained for years. Partnerships between hall men also had great stability. Such relationships greatly eased the work because they produced an almost instinctual familiarity with the work habits of one's partner. They also produced a certain temperamental compatibility. It followed, too, of course, that these relationships went a long way toward generating an unquestioned willingness to contribute to the performance of the work. Indeed, to concretely work with one's partner was an imperative embedded in the work and its social setting. It was simply axiomatic. By the same token, it was the partnership which constituted the basic socio psychological unit through which the forces toward community were generated on the job. A vessel which was to discharge and load general cargo was generally on berth for at least a week. Having arrived alongside the dock, its mooring lines would be taken and secured by "linesmen." The crew would secure the rat guards, the gangway, and a safety net beneath the gangway. Had they not already done so, the crew would then unship and raise the cargo booms (from the boom rests to which they are secured while at sea) and let-go the battens securing the hatch tarpaulins. The vessel was thus readied for a longshore operation. The gang men would begin arriving at the pier sometime after 7:00 A.M.7 They would go to a nearby cafe for coffee and often for breakfast. Meanwhile, the gang bosses would get their hatch assignments from their immediate superior, the ship "walking boss."8 The walking boss or "walker" would also inform the gang bosses as to the nature of the cargoes, their place of stow, of any unusual circumstances, and the number of days that the job was expected to last. Each gang boss would in turn pass such information on to the men of his gang, again over morning coffee or breakfast. About that time, the hall men (who at 6:30 A.M. had begun to be dispatched to the gangs and to the ship or dock walkers) began to drift in. Greetings were widely exchanged. Conversations were begun. Others were resumed. There was a lot of catching up to do.
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