From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks

Actor-playwright Ian Ruskin portrays the legendary union organizer Harry Bridges, capturing his passion, struggles and wicked sense of humor in this one-man play. This vivid dramatization brings to life the San Francisco labor leader who organized the poorly paid and greatly abused dock workers – self-proclaimed “wharf rats” — on San Francisco’s piers. Bridges’ ultimately successful effort to organize these workers was fraught with violence and personal consequences. Today he stands as a hero for organized labor throughout the world. Written and performed by Ian Ruskin, with narration by Elliott Gould and Ed Asner, the play features Harry Bridges’ own words, from his rallying speeches of the 1930s to his electrifying testimony at his own trials, plus eye-witness accounts in the words of his contemporaries.