Meanwhile, Harry Bridges was rising fast as a leader, due to his fearlessness, grasp of strategy, and a brilliantly direct speaking style. He was elected to chair the coast-wide Joint Marine Strike Committee of all ten unions. He later explained to a government-appointed mediation board the reasons why the longshoremen rejected Ryan’s agreement. “If we do not control the halls the unions can and will be destroyed by discrimination and blacklisting, and the men who took part in this strike would be driven out of the industry. We can’t permit a fink hall.” Emphasizing the solidarity of the different groups of workers, he added, “We don’t intend to repeat our former mistake of one group settling without the other. The maritime workers will go back to work only when all of their controversies are settled.”

Ryan’s peevish last words, before he returned to the East Coast: “Bridges does not want this strike settled. My firm belief is that he is acting for the communists.”