Shelvy Daffron gave his life in the cause for better living conditions. 
For the end of the shape-up and the creation of a rank & file union. 
The ILWU.

From the book, "History of the Seattle Waterfront"

At the June 30 Joint Northwest Strike Committee meeting, Seattle delegate Shelvy Daffron reported, "There was Hell to pay out at Pier 41." Action had to be taken before hot-blooded pickets got themselves slaughtered attacking police positions. The meeting temporarily adjourned while delegates hustled to Smith Cove That same evening Daffron accompanied striking sailors and longshoremen to Point Wells to check on a rumor that nonunion crews were about to sail two oil tankers. Thirty strikers rushed the main gate. On the other side guards waited with axe handles. One of the guards yelled, "Let’s give it to them." As the two groups clashed, shots rang out from bushes behind the longshoremen. Striker Shelvy Daffron cried out, "They got me boys! They got me!" Daffron died several hours later in a Seattle hospital of gunshot wounds in his back. On July 6, 1,320 longshoremen and marine workers attended Daffron’s funeral in Eagles’ Hall. Forming a line four abreast, thousands marched behind the hearse and union banners to Lakeview Cemetery.

For fifty-five years, Seattle longshoremen have placed a wreath on Daffron’s grave on July 5.

The Longshoremen who Lost their Lives on the Seattle Waterfront

Passed ILWU members

The Final Dispatch

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