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'''Harry Renton Bridges''' was an Australian citizen, a San Francisco labor leader and clandestine Soviet operative. Bridges entered the United States in 1920 and underwent two failed deportation attempts between by the Roosevelt and Truman Administrations for his affiliation with the [[Communist Party]].
'''Harry Renton Bridges''' was an Australian citizen, a San Francisco labor leader and clandestine Soviet operative. Bridges entered the United States in 1920 and underwent two failed deportation attempts between by the Roosevelt and Truman Administrations for his affiliation with the [[Communist Party]].
Bridges was born in 1901 in Melbourne, Australia and settled in [[San Francisco]] in 1920 where he became an organizer of the longshoremen. In 1921 he joined the anarchist Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
Bridges was born in 1901 in Melbourne, Australia and settled in [[San Francisco]] in 1920 where he became an organizer of the longshoremen. In 1921 he joined the anarchist Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
==ILWU==
As a labor organizer, he played an important role in the [[Waterfront strikes|1934 San Francisco waterfront]] strike. Two years later Bridges became the founding president of the [[International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union]] (ILWU). "My thinking is [[Marxist]]," Bridges later proclaimed. "And the basic thing about this lousy capitalist system is that the workers create the wealth, but those who own it – the rich – keep getting richer, and the poor get poorer." When [[Unemployment|unemployed]] [[Great Depression|Depression]] workers tried to take the waterfront jobs that union members had walked away from, Bridges’ workers unleashed verbal and physical violence against the new workers.
As a labor organizer, he played an important role in the [[Waterfront strikes|1934 San Francisco waterfront]] strike. Two years later Bridges became the founding president of the [[International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union]] (ILWU). "My thinking is [[Marxist]]," Bridges later proclaimed. "And the basic thing about this lousy capitalist system is that the workers create the wealth, but those who own it – the rich – keep getting richer, and the poor get poorer." When [[Unemployment|unemployed]] [[Great Depression|Depression]] workers tried to take the waterfront jobs that union members had walked away from, Bridges’ workers unleashed verbal and physical violence against the new workers.