Zona, Ron oral history interview

Ron Zona is a retired longshoremen and member of International Longshoremen’s & Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU). He started working as a longshoreman in 1967 when he was 17 years old. His first job was only for half a day at Overseas Transport where he worked hand stowing lumber, but he left the waterfront after his first shift. In 1970, after he had gotten married, he worked as a cab driver often driving the longshoremen back and forth from the dispatch hall to Fraser Surrey Docks. One day he decided that he was going to become a longshoreman again, which is how he got his second start longshoring in 1970, and continued working until his retirement in 2011. Zona felt like it was his duty to serve in the union leadership, and for 75% of his time he served on some kind of committee, and found the experience to be very rewarding. Overall, he found his longshore experience very positive. Some of the different docks that Zona worked for were Overseas Transport, Westshore Terminals, Annacis Island, Fraser Surrey Dock, and rice mills. Along the west coast Zona also worked in Woodfibre and Squamish.