Certainly, however, there was a universal consciousness of 
"the good old days," as compared to the "mechanization and 
modernization" which was there for all to see and experience 
by the late 1960s. During the golden era, despite the well-
known militancy and progressive toughness of their local, most
San Francisco longshoremen of that period liked their work and
the terms of their employment. Most of them were proud to be-
longshoremen, and proud to be members of the ILWU.

The verbal expression of this occupational satisfaction took
many forms, but could generally be reduced to the following:

"I like the work" and "It's a damn good union."2 Expressions
of such satisfaction could be heard on the job, in the hiring hall
during the morning and evening job dispatch, in the home and
at parties, and at all sorts of community gatherings and events.
Indeed, it is reported from all quarters that the enjoyment most
San Francisco longshoremen took from talking about their
work and their union bordered on the oppressive! As for the
nonverbal expression of this satisfaction, that was reflected in
the basic posture of the men: an innovative and fraternal
behavior on the job and an obvious camaraderie both on the job
and elsewhere.

The structural basis of this job satisfaction and the objective
sources of this sense of self-esteem and fraternity are to be
found in (1) the nature of the work which the men performed,
(2) the structure and terms of their employment, and (3) the
social relationships which were thereby produced amongst
them. The first part of this essay will focus upon these three
dimensions of "the good old days." The second and concluding
parts will delineate the ways in which the utilization of new
technology has directly and concretely effected these baseline
dimensions of the San Francisco longshoreman's occupational
experience. To that end, the discussion will focus primarily
upon (1) the nature of modem longshore work, (2) the
structure and terms of that work, and (3) the social relationships 
which these circumstances have in turn produced amongst the men.

This essay concerns itself with the manner in which the
utilization of new technology has affected the work and
job-related social experience of a particular group of workers.