He was a tough, hard-nosed union activist and his early waterfront battles left him with ugly knife scars on his arms and legs.

Paul Hall led the SIU in the General strike of 1947 when seamen won unprecedented gains in wages and conditions.

He also organized key breakthroughs for the union in bringing Isthmian Lines (with 125 ships) and Cities Service Tankers (a strongly anti-union company) under the SIU banner.

These constant battles to help other unions earned Paul Hall the lifelong reputation of one who got things done and who could always be counted on for help no matter what the problem.

In 1957, Paul Hall became president of SIU-North America, succeeding the late Harry Lundeberg, a post he held until his death.

He established the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Piney Point, Maryland in 1967 in order to give young people the chance for a career at sea.