Germain Bulcke

Germain Bulcke was a Belgian-American longshore worker from San Francisco and leader in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Biography
Germain (Jerry) Bulcke was born in Belgium and moved to the United States as a child. He began working on the waterfront in the 1920's when the union was company controlled (known as the "blue book" union). During the 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike, Bulcke served as a picket captain and witnessed the murders of longshore workers Nick Bordoise and Howard Sperry by police that became the impetus for the San Francisco General Strike. Bulcke also recounted that he carried another worker who had been wounded in the shootout to safety.

After the 1934 strike, Bulcke rose to prominence in the union. Though never a member of the Communist Party, Bulcke aligned himself with Harry Bridges and the left wing of the union and was often involved in factional fights. In the late 1930's, he protested the Reichstag Fire that led to the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany and opposed US involvement in World War II until 1941. He was also active in the Harry Bridges Defense Committee during Bridges' deportation trials.

In the late 1930's, Bulcke was elected president of ILWU Local 10 (San Francisco Bay Area). He served as president for most of the 1940's, including during World War II. In 1947, he was elected international vice president, which he held until 1960. In 1960, Bulcke became the ILWU-PMA arbitrator for southern California. He held this position until his retirement in 1966.