An Act granting the consent of Congress to a compact between the State of New Jersey and the State of New York known as the Waterfront Commission Compact, and for other purposes
PL 83-252 (S.2383), enacted 08/12/1953

67 
S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1953 
541 
Public Law 252 
CHAPTER 407 
AN ACT 
Granting the consent of Congress to a compact between the State of New Jersey 
and the State of New York known as the Waterfront Commission Compact, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assemhled^ That the consent 
of Congress is hereby given to the compact set forth below to all of 
its terms and provisions, and to the carrying out and effectuation of 
said compact, and enactments in furtherance thereof: 
T H E WATERFRONT COMMISSION COMPACT BETWEEN 
T H E STATES OF NEW YORK AND NEW J E R S E Y AS 
AUTHORIZED 
BY CHAPTER 
882 AS AMENDED 
BY 
CHAPTER 883 OF T H E LAWS OF T H E STATE OF NEW 
YORK OF 1953, AND BY CHAPTER 202 AS AMENDED BY 
CHAPTER 203 OF T H E LAWS OF T H E STATE OF NEW 
J E R S E Y OF 1953. 
ARTICLE I 
FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS 
1. The States of New Jersey and New York hereby find and declare 
that the conditions under which waterfront labor is employed within 
the Port of New York district are depressing and degrading to such 
labor, resulting from the lack of any systematic method of hiring, 
the lack of adequate information as to the availability of employment, 
corrupt hiring practices and the fact that persons conducting such 
hiring are frequently criminals and persons notoriously lacking in 
moral character and integrity and neither responsive or responsible 
to the employers nor to the uncoerced will of the majority of the mem-
bers of the labor organizations of the employees; that as a result 
waterfront laborers suffer from irregularity of employment, fear and 
insecurity, inadequate earnings, an unduly high accident rate, sub-
jection to borrowing at usurious rates of interest, exploitation and 
extortion as the price of securing employment and a loss of respect 
for the law; that not only does there result a destruction of the dignity 
of an important segment of American labor, but a direct encourage-
ment of crime which imposes a levy of greatly increased costs on food, 
fuel and other necessaries handled in and through the Port of New 
York district. 
2. The States of New Jersey and New York hereby find and declare 
that many of the evils above described result not only from the causes 
above described but from the practices of public loaders at piers and 
other waterfront terminals; that such public loaders serve no valid 
economic purpose and operate as parasites exacting a high and unwar-
ranted toll on the flow of commerce in and through the Port of New 
York district, and have used force and engaged in discriminatory 
and coercive practices including extortion against persons not desiring 
to employ them; and that the function of loading and unloading trucks 
and other land vehicles at piers and other waterfront terminals can 
and should be performed, as in every other major American port, 
without the evils and abuses of the public loader system, and by 
the carriers of freight by water, stevedores and operators of such 
piers and other waterfront terminals or the operators of such trucks 
or other land vehicles. 
August 12, 1953 
[S. 2383] 
Waterfront Con^ 
mission Compact. 
N e w Y o r k and 
New Jersey. 
27000 O - 53 - 37 
542 
PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1953 
[67 S T A T . 
3. The States of New Jersey and New York hereby find and declare 
that many of the evils above described result not only from the causes 
above described but from the lack of regulation of the occupation of 
stevedores; that such stevedores have engaged in corrupt practices to 
induce their hire by carriers of freight by water and to induce officers 
and representatives of labor organizations to betray their trust to 
the members of such labor organizations. 
4. The States of New Jersey and New York hereby find and declare 
that the occupations of longshoremen, stevedores, pier superintend-
ents, hiring agents and port watchmen are affected with a public 
interest requiring their regulation and that such regulation shall be 
deemed an exercise of the police power of the two States for the pro-
tection of the public safety, welfare, prosperity, health, peace and 
living conditions of the people of the two States. 
ARTICLE I I 
DEFINITIONS 
As used in this compact: 
"The Port of New York district" shall mean the district created 
by Article I I of the compact dated April thirtieth, one thousand nine 
hundred and twenty-one, between the States of New York and New 
Jersey, authorized by chapter one hundred fifty-four of the laws of 
New York of one thousand and nine hundred and twenty-one and 
chapter one hundred fifty-one of the laws of New Jersey of one thou-
sand nine hundred and twenty-one. 
"Commission" shall mean the waterfront commission of New York 
harbor established by Article I I I hereof. 
"Pier" shall include any wharf, pier, dock or quay. 
"Other waterfront terminal" shall include any warehouse, depot 
or other terminal (other than a pier) which is located within one 
thousand yards of any pier in the Port of New York district and 
which is used for waterborne freight in whole or substantial part. 
"Person" shall mean not only a natural person but also any partner-
ship, joint venture, association, corporation or any other legal entity 
but shall not include the United States, any State or territory thereof 
or any department, division, board, commission or authority of one 
or more of the foregoing. 
"Carrier of freight by water" shall mean any person who may be 
engaged or who may hold himself out as willing to be engaged, whether 
as a common carrier, as a contract carrier or otherwise (except for 
carriage of liquid cargoes in bulk in tank vessels designed for use 
exclusively in such service or carriage by barge of bulk cargoes con-
sisting of only a single commodity loaded or carried without wrappers 
or containers and delivered by the carrier without transportation mark 
or count) in the carriage of freight by water between any point in 
the Port of New York district and a point outside said district. 
"Waterborne freight" shall mean freight carried by or consigned 
for carriage by carriers of freight by water. 
"Longshoreman" shall mean a natural person, other than a hiring 
agent, who is employed for work at a pier or other waterfront terminal, 
either by a carrier of freight by water or by a stevedore, 
(a) physically to move waterborne freight on vessels berthed at 
piers, on piers or at other waterfront terminals, or 
(b) to engage in direct and immediate checking of any such freight 
or of the custodial accounting therefor or in the recording or tabula-
tion of the hours worked at piers or other waterfront terminals by 
natural persons employed by carriers of freight by water or steve-
dores, or 
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PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1958 
543 
(c) to supervise directly and immediately others who are employed 
as in subdivision (a) of this definition. 
"Pier superintendent" shall mean any natural person other than a 
longshoreman who is employed for work at a pier or other waterfront 
terminal by a carrier of freight by water or a stevedore and whose 
work at such pier or other waterfront terminal includes the super-
vision, directly or indirectly, of the work of longshoremen. 
"Port watchman" shall include any watchman, gateman, roundsman, 
detective, guard, guardian or protector of property employed by the 
operator of any pier or other waterfront terminal or by a carrier of 
freight by water to perform services in such capacity on any pier 
or other waterfront terminal. 
"Longshoremen's register" shall mean the register of eligible long-
shoremen compiled and maintained by the commission pursuant to 
Article VIII. 
"Stevedore" shall mean a contractor (not including an employee) 
engaged for compensation pursuant to a contract or arrangement with 
a carrier of freight by water, in moving waterborne freight carried or 
consigned for carriage by such carrier on vessels of such carrier 
berthed at piers, on piers at which such vessels are berthed or at other 
waterfront terminals. 
"Hiring agent" shall mean any natural person, who on behalf of 
a carrier of freight by water or a stevedore shall select any longshore-
man for employment. 
"Compact" shall mean this compact and rules or regulations law-
fully promulgated thereunder. 
ARTICLE 
I I I 
WATERFRONT COMMISSION OF N E W YORK HARBOR 
1. There is hereby created the waterfront commission of New York 
harbor, which shall be a body corporate and politic, an instrumentality 
of the States of New York and New Jersey. 
2. The commission shall consist of two members, one to be chosen 
by the State of New Jersey and one to be chosen by the State of New 
York. 
The member representing each State shall be appointed by 
the Governor of such State with the advice and consent of the Senate 
thereof, without regard to the State of residence of such member, 
and shall receive compensation to be fixed by the Governor of such 
State. The term of office of each member shall be for three years; 
provided, however, that the members first appointed shall be appointed 
for a term to expire June thirtieth, nineteen hundred fifty-six. Each 
member shall hold office until his successor has been appointed and 
qualified. 
Vacancies in office shall be filled for the balance of the 
unexpired term in the same manner as original appointments. 
3. The commission shall act only by unanimous vote of both mem-
bers thereof. Any member may, by written instrument filed in the 
office of the commission, designate any officer or employee of the com-
mission to act in his place as a member whenever he shall be unable 
to attend a meeting of the commission. A vacancy in the office of a 
member shall not impair such designation until the vacancy shall have 
been filled. 
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PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1953 
[67 STAT. 
ARTICLE 
IV 
GENERAL POWERS OF COMMISSION 
In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere prescribed in this 
compact, the commission shall have the power: 
1. To sue and be sued; 
2. To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure; 
3. To acquire, hold and dispose of real and personal property by 
gift, purchase, lease, license or other similar manner, for its corporate 
purposes; 
4. To determine the location, size and suitability of accommoda-
tions necessary and desirable for the establishment and maintenance 
of the employment information centers provided in Article X I I 
hereof and for administrative offices for the commission; 
5. To appoint such officers, agents and employees as it may deem 
necessary, prescribe their powers, duties and qualifications and fix 
their compensation and retain and employ counsel and private con-
sultants on a contract basis or otherwise; 
6. To administer and enforce the provisions of this compact; 
7. To make and enforce such rules and regulations as the commis-
sion may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this compact 
or to prevent the circumvention or evasion thereof, to be effective upon 
publication in the manner which the commission shall prescribe and 
upon filing in the office of the Secretary of State of each State. 
A 
certified copy of any such rules and regulations, attested as true and 
correct by the commission, shall be presumptive evidence of the regu-
lar making, adoption, approval and publication thereof; 
8. By its members and its properly designated officers, agents and 
employees, to administer oaths and issue subpoenas throughout both 
States to compel the attendance of witnesses and the giving of testi-
mony and the production of other evidence; 
9. To have for its members and its properly designated officers, 
agents and employees, full and free access, ingress and egress to and 
from all vessels, piers and other waterfront terminals or other places 
in the port of New York district, for the purposes of making inspec-
tion or enforcing the provisions of this compact; and no person shall 
obstruct or in any way interfere with any such member, officer, 
employee or agent m the making of such inspection, or in the enforce-
ment of the provisions of this compact or in the performance of any 
other power or duty under this compact; 
10. To recover possession of any suspended or revoked license issued 
under this compact; 
11. To make investigations, collect and compile information con-
cerning waterfront practices generally within the port of New York 
district and upon all matters relating to the accomplishment of the 
objectives of this compact; 
12. To advise and consult with representatives of labor and industry 
and with public officials and agencies concerned with the effectuation 
of the purposes of this compact, upon all matters which the commis-
sion may desire, including but not limited to the form and substance 
of rules and regulations, the administration of the compact, mainte-
nance of the longshoremen's register, and issuance and revocation of 
licenses; 
13. To make annual and other reports to the Governors and Legis-
latures of both States containing recommendations for the improve-
ment of the conditions of waterfront labor within the port of New 
York district, for the alleviation of the evils described in Article I and 
for the effectuation of the purposes of this compact. 
Such annual 
reports shall state the commission's finding and determination as to 
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PUBLIC LAW 2 5 2 - A U G . 12, 1953 
545 
whether the public necessity still exists for (a) the continued registra-
tion of longshoremen, (b) the continued licensing of any occupation 
or employment required to be licensed hereunder and (c) the continued 
public operation of the employment information centers provided for 
in Article X I I ; 
14. To cooperate with and receive from any department, division, 
bureau, board, commission, or agency of either or both States, or of 
any county or municipality thereof, such assistance and data as will 
enable it properly to carry out its powers and duties hereunder; and 
to request any such department, division, bureau, board, commission, 
or agency, with the consent thereof, to execute such of its functions 
and powers, as the public interest may require. 
The powers and duties of the commission may be exercised by 
officers, employees and agents designated by them, except the power 
to make rules and regulations. 
The commission shall have such addi-
tional powers and duties as may hereafter be delegated to or imposed 
upon it from time to time by the action of the Legislature of either 
State concurred in by the Legislature of the other. 
ARTICLE V 
PIER SUPERINTENDENTS AND HIRING AGENTS 
1. On or after the first day of December, nineteen hundred and fifty-
three, no person shall act as a pier superintendent or as a hiring agent 
within the port of New York district without first having obtained 
from the commission a license to act as such pier superintendent or 
hiring agent, as the case may be, and no person shall employ or engage 
another person to act as a pier superintendent or hiring agent who is 
not so licensed. 
2. A license to act as a pier superintendent or hiring agent shall 
be issued only upon the written application, under oath, of the person 
proposing to employ or engage another person to act as such pier 
superintendent or hiring agent, verified by the prospective licensee 
as to the matters concerning him, and shall state the following: 
(a) The full name and business address of the applicant; 
(b) The full name, residence, business address (if any), place and 
date of birth and social security number of the prospective licensee; 
(c) The present and previous occupations of the prospective licensee, 
including the places where he was employed and the names of his 
employers ; 
(d) Such further facts and evidence as may be required by the com-
mission to ascertain the character, integrity and identity of the pro-
spective licensee; and 
(e) That if a license is issued to the prospective licensee, the appli-
cant will employ such licensee as pier Superintendent or hiring agent, 
as the case may be. 
3. No such license shall be granted. 
(a) Unless the commission shall be satisfied that the prospective 
licensee possesses good character and integrity; 
(b) If the prospective licensee has, without subsequent pardon, been 
convicted by a court of the United States, or any State or territory 
thereof, of the commission of, or the attempt or conspiracy to commit 
treason, murder, manslaughter or any felony or high misdemeanor 
or any of the following misdemeanors or offenses: illegally using, 
carrying or possessing a pistol or other dangerous weapon; making 
or possessing burglar's instruments; buying or receiving stolen prop-
erty; unlawful entry of a building; aiding an escape from prison; 
unlawfully possessing or distributing habit-forming narcotic drugs; 
and violation of this compact. Any such prospective licensee inelig-
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PtJBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1953 
[67 S T A T . 
ible for a license by reason of any such conviction may submit satis-
factory evidence to the commission that he has for a period of not less 
than five years, measured as hereinafter provided, and up to the time 
of application, so conducted himself as to warrant the grant of such 
license, in which event the commission may, in its discretion, issue an 
order removing such ineligibility. The aforesaid period of five years 
shall be measured either from the date of payment of any fine imposed 
upon such person or the suspension of sentence or from the date of 
his unrevoked release from custody by parole, commutation or termi-
nation of his sentence; 
(c) If the prospective licensee know^ingly or willfully advocates 
the desirability of overthrowing or destroying the government of the 
United States by force or violence or shall be a member of a group 
which advocates such desirability, knowing the purposes of such group 
include such advocacy, 
4. When the application shall have been examined and such further 
inquiry and investigation made as the commission shall deem proper 
and when the commission shall be satisfied therefrom that the pros-
pective licensee possesses the qualifications and requirements prescribed 
m this article, the commission shall issue and deliver to the prospective 
licensee a license to act as pier superintendent or hiring agent for the 
applicant, as the case may be, and shall inform the applicant of his 
action. The commission may issue a temporary permit to any pros-
pective licensee for a license under the provisions of this article pend-
ing final action on an application made for such a license. Any such 
permit shall be valid for a period not in excess of thirty days. 
5. No person shall be licensed to act as a pier superintendent or 
hiring agent for more than one employer, except at a single pier or 
other waterfront terminal, but nothing in this article shall be construed 
to limit in any way the number of pier superintendents or hiring 
agents any employer may employ. 
6. A license granted pursuant to this article shall continue through 
the duration of the licensee's employment by the employer who shall 
have applied for his license. 
7. Any license issued pursuant to this article may be revoked or 
suspended for such period as the commission deems in the public 
interest or the licensee thereunder may be reprimanded for any of 
the following offenses: 
(a) Conviction of a crime or act by the licensee or other causj which 
would require or permit his disqualification from receiving a license 
upon original application; 
(b) Fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in securing the license, or 
in the conduct of the licensed activity; 
(c) Violation of any of the provisions of this compact; 
(d) Addiction to the use of or trafficking in morphine, opium, 
cocaine or other narcotic drug; 
(e) Employing, hiring or procuring any person in violation of 
this compact or inducing or otherwise aiding or abetting any person 
to violate the terms of this compact; 
(f) Paying, giving, causing to be paid or given or offering to pay 
or give to any person any valuable consideration to induce such other 
person to violate any provision of this compact or to induce any public 
officer, agent or employee to fail to perform his duty hereunder; 
(g) Consorting with known criminals for an unlawful purpose; 
(h) Transfer or surrender of possession of the license to any person 
either temporarily or permanently without satisfactory explanation; 
(i) False impersonation of another licensee under this compact; 
(j) Receipt or solicitation of anything of value from any person 
other than the licensee's employer as consideration for the selection or 
retention for employment of any longshoreman; 
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PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1953 
547 
(k) Coercion of a longshoreman by threat of discrimination or 
violence or economic reprisal, to make purchases from or to utilize the 
services of any person; 
(1) Lending any money to or borrowing any money from a long-
shoreman for which there is a charge of interest or other consideration; 
and 
(m) Membership in a labor organization which represents long-
shoremen or port watchmen; but nothing in this section shall be 
deemed to prohibit pier superintendents or hiring agents from being 
represented by a labor organization or organizations which do not 
also represent longshoremen or port watchmen. The American Fed-
eration of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations and any 
other similar federation, congress or other organization of national 
or international occupational or industrial labor organizations shall 
not be considered an organization which represents longshoremen or 
port watchmen within the meaning of this section although one of the 
federated or constituent labor organizations thereof may represent 
longshoremen or port watchmen. 
ARTICLE 
VI 
STEVEDORES 
1. On or after the first day of December, nineteen hundred and 
fifty-three, no person shall act as a stevedore within the Port of New 
York district without having first obtained a license from the com-
mission, and no person shall employ a stevedore to perform services 
as such within the Port of New York district unless the stevedore is so 
licensed. 
2. Any person intending to act as a stevedore within the Port of 
New York district shall file in the office of the commission a written 
application for a license to engage in such occupation, duly signed 
and verified as follows: 
(a) If the applicant is a natural person, the application shall be 
signed and verified by such person and if the applicant is a partner-
ship, the application shall be signed and verified by each natural 
person composing or intending to compose such partnership. 
The 
application shall state the full name, age, residence, business address 
(if any), present and previous occupations of each natural person so 
signing the same, and any other facts and evidence as may be required 
by the commission to ascertain the character, integrity and identity 
of each natural person so signing such application. 
(b) If the applicant is a corporation, the application shall be signed 
and verified by the president, secretary and treasurer thereof, and 
shall specify the name of the corporation, the date and place of its 
incorporation, the location of its principal place of business, the names 
and addresses of, and the amount of the stock held by stockholders 
owning five percent or more of any of the stock thereof, and of all 
officers (including all members of the board of directors). 
The 
requirements of subdivision (a) of this section as to a natural person 
who is a member of a partnership, and such requirements as may be 
specified in rules and regulations promulgated by the commission, 
shall apply to each such officer or stockholder and their successors in 
office or interest as the case may be. 
In the event of the death, resignation or removal of any officer, and 
in the event of any change in the list of stockholders who shall own 
five percent or more of the stock of the corporation, the secretary of 
such corporation shall forthwith give notice of that fact in writing 
to the commission, certified by said secretary. 
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PUBLIC LAW 252~AUG. 12, 1953 
[67 STAT4 
3. No such license shall be granted 
(a) If any person whose signature or name appears in the applica-
tion is not the real party in interest required by section 2 of this 
article to sign or to be identified in the application or if the person 
so signing or named in the application is an undisclosed agent or 
trustee for any such real party in interest; 
(b) Unless the commission shall be satisfied that the applicant and 
all members, officers and stockholders required by section 2 of this 
article to sign or be identified in the application for license possess 
good character and integrity; 
(c) Unless the applicant is either a natural person, partnership 
or corporation; 
(d) Unless the applicant shall be a party to a contract then in force 
or which will take enect upon the issuance of a license, with a carrier 
of freight by water for the loading and unloading by the applicant 
of one or more vessels of such carrier at a pier within the port of 
New York district; 
(e) If the applicant or any member, officer or stockholder required 
by section 2 of this article to sign or be identified in the application 
for license has, without subsequent pardon, been convicted by a court 
of the United States or any State or territory thereof of the commis-
sion of, or the attempt or conspiracy to commit, treason, murder, 
manslaughter or any felony or high misdemeanor or any of the mis-
demeanors or offenses described in subdivision (b) of section 3 of 
Article V. Any applicant ineligible for a license by reason of any 
such conviction may submit satisfactory evidence to the commission 
that the person whose conviction was the basis of ineligibility has for 
a period of not less than five years, measured as hereinafter provided 
and up to the time of application, so conducted himself as to warrant 
the grant of such license, in which event the commission may, in its 
discretion, issue an order removing such ineligibility. The aforesaid 
period of five years shall be measured either from the date of pay-
ment of any fine imposed upon such person or the suspension of sen-
tence or from the date of his unrevoked release from custody by 
parole, commutation or termination of his sentence; 
(f) If, on or after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-three, the 
applicant has paid, given, caused to have been paid or given or offered 
to pay or give to any officer or employee of any carrier of freight by 
water any valuable consideration for an improper or unlawful pur-
pose or to induce such person to procure the employment of the appli-
cant by such carrier for the performance of stevedoring services; 
(g) If, on or after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-three, the appli-
cant has paid, given, caused to be paid or given or offered to pay or give 
to any officer or representative of a labor organization any valuable 
consideration for an improper or unlawful purpose or to induce such 
officer or representative to subordinate the interests of such labor 
organization or its members in the management of the affairs of such 
labor organization to the interests of the applicant. 
4. When the application shall have been examined and such further 
inquiry and investigation made as the commission shall deem proper 
and when the commission shall be satisfied therefrom that the appli-
cant possesses the qualifications and requirements prescribed in this 
article, the commission shall issue and deliver a license to such appli-
cant. 
The commission may issue a temporary permit to any applicant 
for a license under the provisions of this article pending final action 
on an application made for such a license. Any such permit shall be 
valid for a period not in excess of thirty days. 
5. A license granted pursuant to this article shall be for a term of 
two years or fraction of such two-year period, and shall expire on the 
first day of December of each odd numbered year. In the event of the 
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PXJBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1953 
549 
death of the licensee, if a natural person, or its termination or dissolu-
tion by reason of the death of a partner, if a partnership, or if the 
licensee shall cease to be a party to any contract of the type required 
by subdivision (d) of section 3 of this article, the license shall termi-
nate ninety days after such event or upon its expiration date, which-
ever shall be sooner. A license may be renewed by the commission 
for successive two-year periods upon fulfilling the same requirements 
as are set forth in this article for an original application. 
6. Any license issued pursuant to this article may be revoked or 
suspended for such period as the commission deems in the public 
interest or the licensee thereunder may be reprimanded for any of the 
following offenses on the part of the licensee or of any person required 
by section 2 of this article to sign or be identified in an original appli-
cation for a license: 
(a) Conviction of a crime or other cause which would permit or 
require disqualification of the licensee from receiving a license upon 
original application; 
(b) Fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in securing the license or 
in the conduct of the licensed activity; 
(c) Failure by the licensee to maintain a complete set of books and 
records containing a true and accurate account of the licensee's receipts 
and disbursements arising out of his activities within the Port of New 
York district; 
(d) Failure to keep said books and records available during business 
hours for inspection by the commission and its duly designated repre-
sentatives until the expiration of the fifth calendar year following 
the calendar year during which occurred the transactions recorded 
therein; 
(e) Any other offense described in subdivisions (c) to (i) inclusive, 
of section 7 of Article V. 
ARTICLE 
VII 
PROHIBITION OF PUBLIC LOADING 
1. The States of New Jersey and New York hereby find and declare 
that the transfer of cargo to and from trucks at piers and other water-
front terminals in the port of New York district has resulted in vicious 
and notorious abuses by persons commonly known as "public loaders," 
There is compelling evidence that such persons have exacted the pay-
ment of exorbitant charges for their services, real and alleged, and 
otherwise extorted large sums through force, threats of violence, un-
authorized labor disturbances and other coercive activities, and that 
they have been responsible for and abetted criminal activities on the 
waterfront. 
These practices which have developed in the port of 
New York district impose unjustified costs on the handling of goods 
in and through the port of New York district, and increase the 
prices paid by consumers for food, fuel and other necessaries, and 
impair the economic stability of the port of New York district. 
It 
is the sense of the Legislatures of the States of New York and New 
Jersey that these practices and conditions must be eliminated to pre-
vent grave injury to the welfare of the people. 
2. It is hereby declared to be against the public policy of the States 
of New Jersey and New York and to be unlawful for any person to 
load or unload waterborne freight onto or from vehicles other than 
railroad cars at piers or at other waterfront terminals within the port 
of New York district, for a fee or other compensation, other than the 
following persons and their employees: 
(a) Carriers of freight by water, but only at piers at which their 
vessels are berthed; 
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PUBLIC LAW 262-AUG. 12, 1953 
[67 S T A T . 
(b) Other carriers of freight (including but not limited to railroads 
and truckers), but only in connection with freight transported or to 
be transported by such carriers; 
(c) Operators of piers or other waterfront terminals (including 
railroads, truck terminal operators, warehousemen and other per-
sons), but only at piers or other waterfront terminals operated by 
them; 
(d) Shippers or consignees of freight, but only in connection with 
freight shipped by such shipper or consigned to such consignee; 
(e) Stevedores licenses under article VI, whether or not such water-
borne freight has been or is to be transported by a carrier of freight 
by water with which such stevedore shall have a contract of the type 
prescribed by subdivision (d) of section 3 of article VI. 
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to permit any such load-
ing or unloading of any w^aterborne freight at any place by any such 
person by means of any independent contractor, or any other agent 
other than an employee, unless such independent contractor is a person 
permitted by this article to load or unload such freight at such place 
in his own right. 
ARTICLE VIII 
LONGSHOREMEN 
1. The commission shall establish a longshoremen's register in which 
shall be included all qualified longshoremen eligible, as hereinafter 
provided, for employment as such in the Port of New York district. 
On or after the first day of December, nineteen hundred 
fifty-three, 
no person shall act as a longshoreman within the Port of New York 
district unless at the time he is included in the longshoremen's register, 
and no person shall employ another to work as a longshoreman within 
the Port of New York district unless at the time such other person is 
included in the longshoremen's register. 
2. Any person applying for inclusion in the longshoremen's register 
shall file at such place and in such manner as the commission shall 
designate a written statement, signed and verified by such person, 
setting forth his full name, residence address, social security number, 
and such further facts and evidence as the commission may prescribe 
to establish the identity of such person and his criminal record, if any. 
3. The commission may in its discretion deny application for inclu-
sion in the longshoremen's register by a person 
(a) Who has been convicted by a court of the United States or any 
State or territory thereof, without subsequent pardon, of treason, 
murder, manslaughter or of any felony or high misdemeanor or of 
any of the misdemeanors or offenses described in subdivision (b) of 
section 3 of Article V or of attempt or conspiracy to commit any of 
such crimes; 
(b) Who knowingly or willingly advocates the desirability of over-
throwing or destroying the government of the United States by force 
or violence or who shall be a member of a group which advocates such 
desirability knowing the purposes of such group includes such 
advocacy; 
(c) Whose presence at the piers or other waterfront terminals in 
the Port of New York district is found by the commission on the 
basis of the facts and evidence before it, to constitute a danger to the 
public peace or safety. 
4. Unless the commission shall determine to exclude the applicant 
from the longshoremen's register on a ground set forth in section 3 
of this article it shall include such person in the longshoremen's reg-
ister. 
The commission may permit temporary registration of any 
applicant under the provisions of this article pending final action 
67 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 252~AUG. 12, 1953 
551 
on an application made for such registration. Any such temporary 
registration shall be valid for a period not in excess of thirty days. 
5. The commission shall have power to reprimand any longshoreman 
registered under this article or to remove him from the longshoremen's 
register for such period of time as it deems in the public interest for 
any of the following offenses: 
(a) Conviction of a crime or other cause which would permit dis-
qualification of such person from inclusion in the longshoremen's 
register upon original application; 
(b) Fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in securing inclusion in the 
longshoremen's register; 
(c) Transfer or surrender of possession to any person either tempo-
rarily or permanently of any card or other means of identification 
issued by the commission as evidence of inclusion in the longshore-
men's register, without satisfactory explanation; 
(d) False impersonation of another longshoreman registered under 
this article or of another person licensed under this compact; 
(e) Wilful commission of or wilful attempt to commit at or on 
a water-front terminal or adjacent highv/ay any act of physical injury 
to any other person or of wilful damage to or misappropriation of any 
other person's property, unless justified or excused by law; and 
(f) Any other offense described in subdivisions (c) to (f) inclusive 
of section 1 of Article V. 
6. The commission shall have the right to recover possession of any 
card or other means of identification issued as evidence of inclusion in 
the longshoremen's register in the event that the holder thereof has 
been removed from the longshoremen's register. 
7. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to limit 
in any way any rights of labor reserved by Article XV. 
ARTICLE 
I X 
REGULARIZATION OF LONGSHOREMEN'S 
EMPLOYMENT 
1. On or after the first day of December, one thousand nine hundred 
and fifty-four, the commission shall, at regular intervals, remove from 
the longshoremen's register any person who shall have been registered 
for at least nine months and who shall have failed during the pre-
ceding six calendar months either to have worked as a longshoreman 
in the Port of New York district or to have applied for employment as 
a longshoreman at an employment information center established 
under article X I I for such minimum number of days as shall have 
been established by the commission pursuant to section two of this 
article. 
2. On or before the first day of June, one thousand nine hundred and 
fifty-four, 
and on or before each succeeding first day of June or 
December, the commission shall, for the purposes of section one of 
this article, establish for the six-month period beginning on each such 
date a minimum number of days and the distribution of such days 
during such period. 
3. In establishing any such minimum number of days or period, the 
commission shall observe the following standards: 
(a) To encourage as far as practicable the regulation of the employ-
ment of longshoremen; 
(b) To bring the number of eligible longshoremen more closely into 
balance with the demand for longshoremen's services within the Port 
of New York district without reducing the number of eligible long-
shoremen below that necessary to meet the requirements of longshore-
men in the Port of New York district; 
552 
PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1953 
[67 STAT. 
(c) To eliminate oppressive and evil hiring practices affecting 
longshoremen and waterborne commerce in the Port of New York 
district; 
(d) To eliminate unlawful practices injurious to waterfront labor; 
and 
(e) To establish hiring practices and conditions which will permit 
the termination of governmental regulation and intervention at the 
earliest opportunity. 
4. A longshoreman who has been removed from the longshoremen's 
register pursuant to this article may seek reinstatement upon fulfilling 
the same requirements as for initial inclusion in the longshoremen's 
register, but not before the expiration of one year from the date of 
removal, except that immediate reinstatement shall be made upon 
proper showing that the registrant's failure to work or apply for 
work the minimum number of days above described was caused by 
the fact that the registrant was engaged in the military service of the 
United States or was incapacitated by ill health, physical injury, or 
other good cause. 
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the commis-
sion shall at any time have the power to register longshoremen on a 
temporary basis to meet special or emergency needs. 
ARTICLE X 
PORT WATCHMAN 
1. On or after the first day of December, nineteen hundred fifty-
three, no person shall act as a port watchman within the Port of New 
York district without first having obtained a license from the commis-
sion, and no person shall employ a port watchman who is not so 
licensed. 
2. A license to act as a port watchman shall be issued only upon 
written application, duly verified, which shall state the following: 
(a) The full name, residence, business address (if any), place and 
date of birth and social security number of the applicant; 
(b) The present and previous occupations of the applicant, in-
cluding the places where he was employed and the names of his 
employers; 
(c) The citizenship of the applicant and, if he is a naturalized 
citizen of the United States, the court and date of his naturalization; 
and 
(d) Such further facts and evidence as may be required by the com-
mission to ascertain the character, integrity and identity of the 
applicant. 
3. No such license shall be granted 
(a) Unless the commission shall be satisfied that the applicant 
possesses good character and integrity; 
(b) If the applicant has, without subsequent pardon, been con-
victed by a court of the United States or of any State or territory 
thereof of the commission of, or the attempt or conspiracy to commit, 
treason, murder, manslaughter or any felony or high misdemeanor 
or any of the misdemeanors or offenses described in subdivision (b) 
of section 3 of Article V; 
(c) Unless the applicant shall meet such reasonable standards of 
physical and mental fitness for the discharge of his duties as may from 
time to time be established by the commission; 
(d) If the applicant shall be a member of any labor organization 
which represents longshoremen or pier superintendents or hiring 
agents; but nothing in this Article shall be deemed to prohibit port 
watchmen from being represented by a labor organization or organiza-
67 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1953 
555 
tions which do not also represent longshoremen or pier superintend-
ents or hiring agents. The American Federation of Labor, the Con-
gress of Industrial Organizations and any other similar federation, 
congress or other organization of national or international occupa-
tional or industrial labor organizations shall not be considered an 
organization which represents longshoremen or pier superintendents 
or hiring agents within the meaning of this section although one of the 
federated or constituent labor organizations thereof may represent 
longshoremen or pier superintendents or hiring agents. 
(e) If the applicant knowingly or wilfully advocates the desirability 
of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States 
by force or violence or shall be a member of a group which advocates 
such desirability, knowing the purposes of such group include such 
advocacy. 
4. When the application shall have been examined and such further 
inquiry and investigation made as the commission shall deem proper 
and when the commission shall be satisfied therefrom that the appli-
cant possesses the qualifications and requirements prescribed by this 
article and regulations issued pursuant thereto, the commission shall 
issue and deliver a license to the applicant. 
The commission may 
issue a temporary permit to any applicant for a license under the 
provisions of this article pending final action on an application made 
for such a license. Any such permit shall be valid for a period not in 
excess of thirty days. 
5. A license granted pursuant to this article shall continue for a 
term of three years. A license may be renewed by the commission for 
successive three-year periods upon fulfilling the same requirements as 
are set forth in this article for an original application. 
6. Any license issued pursuant to this article may be revoked or 
suspended for such period as the commission deems in the public 
interest or the licensee thereunder may be reprimanded for any of the 
following offenses: 
(a) Conviction of a crime or other cause which would permit or 
require his disqualification from receiving a license upon original 
application; 
(b) Fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in securing the license; and 
(c) Any other offense described in subdivisions 
(c) to 
(i), 
inclusive, of section 7 of article V. 
ARTICLE 
X I 
HEARINGS, DETERMINATIONS AND REVIEW 
1. The Commission shall not deny jiny application for a license or 
registration without giving the applicant or prospective licensee rea-
sonable prior notice and an opportunity to be heard. 
2. Any application for a license or for inclusion in the longshore-
men's register, and any license issued or registration made, may be 
denied, revoked, cancelled, suspended as the case may be, only in the 
manner prescribed in this article. 
3. The commission may on its own initiative or on complaint of any 
person, including any public official or agency, institute proceedings 
to revoke, cancel or suspend any license or registration after a hear-
ing at which the licensee or registrant and any person making such 
complaint shall be given an opportunity to be heard, provided that 
any order of the commission revoking, cancelling or suspending any 
license or registration shall not become effective until fifteen days sub-
sequent to the serving of notice thereof upon the licensee or registrant 
unless in the opinion of the commission the continuance of the Ucense 
or registration for such period would be inimicable to the public 
554 
PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12,1953 
[67 STAT. 
peace or safety. Such hearing shall be held in such manner and upon 
such notice as may be prescrioed by the rules of the commission, but 
such notice shall he of not less than ten days and shall state the nature 
of the complaint. 
4. Pending the determination of such hearing pursuant to section 3 
the commission may temporarily suspend a license or registration 
if in the opinion of the commission the continuance of the license or 
registration for such period is inimicable to the public peace or safety. 
5. The commission, or such member, officer, employee or agent of 
the commission as may be designated by the commission for such 
purpose, shall have the power to issue subpoenas throughout both 
States to compel the attendance of witnesses and the giving of testi-
mony or production of other evidence and to administer oaths in 
connection with any such hearing. It shall be the duty of the com-
mission or of any such member, officer, employee or agent of the 
commission designated by the commission for such purpose to issue 
subpoenas at the request of and upon behalf of the licensee, registrant 
or applicant. The commission or such person conducting the hearing 
shall not be bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence or by 
technical or formal rules of procedure in the conduct of such hearing. 
6. Upon the conclusion of the hearing, the commission shall take 
such action upon such findings and determination as it deems proper 
and shall execute an order carrying such findings into effect. 
The 
action in the case of an application for a license or registration shall 
be the granting or denial thereof. The action in the case of a licensee 
shall be revocation of the license or suspension thereof for a fixed 
period or reprimand or a. dismissal of the charges. The action in the 
case of a registered longshoreman shall be dismissal of the charges, 
reprimand or removal from the longshoremen's register for a fixed 
period or permanently. 
7. The action of the commission in denying any application for a 
license or in refusing to include any person in the longshoremen's 
register under this compact or in suspending or revoking such license 
or removing any person from the longshoremen's register or in repri-
manding a licensee or registrant shall be subject to judicial review by 
a proceeding instituted in either State at the instance of the applicant, 
licensee or registrant in the manner provided by the law of such State 
for review of the final decision or action of administrative agencies of 
such State; provided, however, that notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law the court shall have power to stay for not more than thirty 
days an order of the commission suspending or revoking a license or 
removing a longshoreman from the longshoremen's register. 
ARTICLE 
XII 
EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION CENTERS 
1. The States of New Jersey and New York hereby find and declare 
that the method of employment of longshoremen and port watchmen 
in the Port of New York district, commonly known as the "shape-up," 
has resulted in vicious and notorious abuses, of which such employees 
have been the principal victims. There is compelling evidence that 
the "shape-up" has permitted and encouraged extortion from em-
ployees as the price of securing or retaining employment and has 
subjected such employees to threats of violence, unwilling joinder in 
unauthorized labor disturbances and criminal activities on the water-
front. 
The "shape-up" has thus resulted in a loss of fundamental 
rights and liberties of labor, has impaired the economic stability of 
the Port of New York district and weakened law enforcement therein. 
It is the sense of the Legislatures of the States of New Jersey and New 
67 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1958 
555 
York that these practices and conditions must be eliminated to prevent 
grave injury to the welfare of waterfront laborers and to the people 
at large and that the elimination of the "shape-iip" and the establish-
ment of a system of employment information centers are necessary to 
a solution of these public problems, 
2. The commission shall establish and maintain one or more employ-
ment information centers in each State within the Port of New York 
district at such locations as it may determine. 
No person shall, 
directly or indirectly, hire any person for w^ork as a longshoreman or 
port watchman within the Port of New York district, except through 
such particular employment information center or centers as may 
be prescribed by the commission. 
No person shall accept any employ-
ment as a longshoreman or port watchman within the Port of New 
York district, except through such an employment information center. 
At each such employment information center the commission shall 
keep and exhibit the longshoremen's register and any other records it 
shall determine to the end that longshoremen and port watchmen shall 
have the maximum information as to available employment as such 
at any time within the Port of New York district and to the end that 
employers shall have an adequate opportunity to fill their requirements 
of registered longshoremen and port watchmen at all times. 
3. Every employer of longshoremen or port watchmen within the 
Port of New York district shall furnish such information as may be 
required by the rules and regulations prescribed by the commission 
with regard to the name of each person hired as a longshoreman or 
port watchman, the time and place of hiring, the time, place and hours 
of work, and the compensation therefor. 
4. All wage payments to longshoremen or port watchmen for work 
as such shall be made by check or cash evidenced by a written voucher 
receipted by the person to whom such cash is paid. 
The commission 
may arrange for the provision of facilities for cashing such checks. 
ARTICLE X I I I 
EXPENSES o r ADMINISTRATION 
1. By concurrent legislation enacted by their respective Legisla-
tures, the two States may provide from time to time for meeting the 
commission's expenses. Until other provision shall be made, such 
expense shall be met as authorized in this article. 
2. The commission shall annually adopt a budget of its expenses 
for each year. Each budget shall be submitted to the Governors of 
the two States and shall take effect as submitted; provided^ that either 
Governor may within thirty days disapprove or reduce any item or 
items, and the budget shall be adjusted accordingly. 
3. After taking into account such funds as may be available to it 
from reserves. Federal grants or otherwise, the balance of the com-
mission's budgeted expenses shall be assessed upon employers of per-
sons registered or licensed under this compact. Each such employer 
shall pay to the commission an assessment computed upon the gross 
payroll payments made by such employer to longshoremen, pier 
superintendents, hiring agents and port watchmen for work or labor 
performed within the port of New York district, at a rate, not in 
excess of two per cent, computed by the commission in the following 
manner: the commission shall annually estimate the gross payroll 
payments to be made by employers subject to assessment and shall 
compute a rate thereon which will yield revenues sufficient to finance 
the commission's budget for each year. Such budget may include a 
reasonable amount for a reserve but such amount shall not exceed ten 
per cent of the total of all other items of expenditure contained 
556 
PUBLIC LAW 252-AUG. 12, 1953 
[67 STAT. 
therein. 
Such reserve shall be used for the stabilization of annual 
assessments, the payment of operating deficits and for the repayment 
of advances made by the two States. 
4. The amount required to balance the commission's budget, in 
excess of the estimated yield of the maximum assessment, shall be 
certified by the commission, with the approval of the respective 
Governors, to the Legislatures of the two States, in proportion to 
the gross annual wage payments made to longshoremen for work in 
each State within the port of New York district. The Legislatures 
shall annually appropriate to the commission the amount so certified. 
5. The commission may provide by regulation for the collection and 
auditing of assessments. Such assessments hereunder shall be payable 
pursuant to such provisions for administration, collection and en-
forcement as the States may provide by concurrent legislation. 
In 
addition to any other sanction provided by law, the commission may 
revoke or suspend any license held by any person under this com-
pact, or his privilege of employing persons registered or licensed 
hereunder, for non-payment of any assessment when due. 
6. The assessment hereunder shall be in lieu of any other charge for 
the issuance of licenses to stevedores, pier superintendents, hiring 
agents and port watchmen or for the registration of longshoremen or 
use of an employment information center. 
The commission shall 
establish reasonable procedures for the consideration of protests by 
affected employees concerning the estimates and computation of the 
rate of assessment. 
ARTICLE 
XIV 
GENERAL VIOLATIONS; PROSECUTIONS; PENALTIES 
1. The failure of any witness, when duly subpoenaed to attend, give 
testimony or produce other evidence, whether or not at a hearing, shall 
be punishable by the Superior Court in New Jersey and the Supreme 
Court in New York in the same manner as said failure is punishable 
by such court in a case therein pending. 
2. Any person who, having been sworn or affirmed as a witness in 
any such hearing, shall wilfully give false testimony or who shall 
wilfully make or file any false or fraudulent report or statement 
required by this compact to be made or filed under oath, shall be guilty 
of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand 
dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment for not more than one year or 
both. 
3. Any person who violates or attempts or conspires to violate any 
other provision of this compact shall be punishable as may be provided 
by the two States by action of the Legislature of either State concurred 
in by the Legislature of the other. 
4. Any person who interferes with or impedes the orderly registra-
tion of longshoremen pursuant to this compact or who conspires to or 
attempts to interfere with or impede such registration shall be punish-
able as may be provided by the two States by action of the Legislature 
of either State concurred in by the Legislature of the other. 
5. Any person who directly or indirectly inflicts or threatens to 
inflict any injury, damage, harm or loss or in any other manner prac-
tices intimidation upon or against any person in order to induce or 
compel such person or any other person to refrain from registering 
pursuant to this compact shall be punishable as may be provided by 
the two States by action of the Legislature of either State concurred 
in by the Legislature of the other. 
6. In any prosecution under this compact, it shall be sufficient to 
prove only a single act (or a single holding out or attempt) prohibited 
by law, without having to prove a general course of conduct, in order 
to prove a violation. 
67 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 253-AUG. 12, 1953 
557 
ARTICLE 
XV 
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SAFEGUARDED 
1. This compact is not designed and shall not be construed to limit 
in any way any rights granted or derived from any other statute or 
any rule of law for employees to organize in labor organizations, to 
bargain collectively and to act in any other way individually, col-
lectively, and through labor organizations or other representatives 
of their own choosing. Without limiting the generality of the fore-
going, nothing contained in this compact shall be construed to limit 
in any way the right of employees to strike. 
2. This compact is not designed and shall not be construed to limit 
in any way any rights of longshoremen, hiring agents, pier super-
intendents or port watchmen or their employers to bargain collectively 
and agree upon any method for the selection of such employees by 
way of seniority, experience, regular gangs or otherwise; provided^ 
that such employees shall be licensed or registered hereunder and 
such longshoremen and port watchmen shall be hired only through the 
employment information centers established hereunder and that all 
other provisions of this compact be observed. 
ARTICLE 
X V I 
AMENDMENTS; CONSTRUCTION; SHORT TITLE 
1. Amendments and supplements to this compact to implement the 
purposes thereof may be adopted by the action of the Legislature of 
either State concurred in by the Legislature of the other. 
2. If any part or provision of this compact or the application 
thereof to any person or circumstances be adjudged invalid by any 
court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall be confined in 
its operation to the part, provision or application directly involved 
in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered 
and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this 
compact or the application thereof to other persons or circumstances 
and the two States hereby declare that they would have entered into 
this compact or the remainder thereof had the invalidity of such 
provision or application thereof been apparent. 
3. In accordance with the ordinary rules for construction of inter-
state compacts this compact shall be liberally construed to eliminate 
the evils described therein and to effectuate the purposes thereof. 
4. This compact shall be known and may be cited as the "Waterfront 
Commission Compact." 
SEC. 2. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby 
expressly reserved. 
Approved August 12, 1953. 
Short titie. 
Public Law 253 
CHAPTER 408 
AN ACT 
To amend the mineral leasing laws with respect to their application in the case 
of pipelines passing through the public domain. 
August 12, 1953 
[S. 2220] 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That section 28 of the I^MV"*^ *'"' ^^^*" 
Act entitled "An Act to promote the mining of coal, phosphate, oil. 
Rights-of-way. 
oil shale, gas, and sodium on the public domain", approved February 
27000 O - 53 - 38