Joseph Curran was a seaman aboard the Panama Pacific ocean liner SS California.
[2] Finally, United States Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins personally intervened in the SS California strike.
Speaking to the crew by telephone, Perkins agreed to arrange a grievance hearing once the ship docked at its destination in New York City, and that there would be no reprisals by the company or government against the Curran and the strikers.
United States Secretary of Commerce Daniel Roper and the Panama Pacific Line declared Curran and the strikers mutineers.
[1][2] Seaman all along the East Coast struck to protest the treatment of the SS California's crew.
Curran became a leader of the 10-week strike, eventually forming a supportive association known as the Seamen's Defense Committee.
Within six years, nearly all racial discrimination was eliminated in maritime hiring, wages, living accommodations and work assignments.