The longshoreman's hook was historically used by longshoremen (stevedores). Messing and berthing was provided for refinery workers, oil spill response teams and longshoremen. In 1956, most cargoes were loaded and unloaded by hand by longshoremen. Violence by longshoremen against black men was especially fierce in the docks area. Despite being born wealthy, Franklin Reeve spent summers working at the docks with longshoremen. Longshoremen and related unions around the world struggled with this revolution in shipping goods. This led to the formation of the NMU, the strongest east coast longshoremen union. The ports converted to container ships, costing many traditional jobs among longshoremen. In order to unload a ship successfully, many longshoremen are needed. The longshoremen rejected the proposal to arbitrate. The boys soon started working as longshoremen on the Brooklyn waterfront. The police investigation is stymied by lack of cooperation from the longshoremen, including Axel. In the 1930s, about 80% of the Baltimore's longshoremen were Polish or of Polish descent. The number of professional longshoremen grew by thousands.