Phil Lelli papers, 1933-2004

Philip Martin Lelli (1929-2004) was a longshoreman, union activist, local philanthropist, and past president of the ILWU Local 23, in Tacoma, Washington.

Born in Tacoma on December 4, 1929, Lelli was raised in the Edgewood Area. His parents, Martin (nicknamed "Barney") and Mary Ballard, ran Lelli's Grocery. He attended Edgemont School (now Edgewood), Fife High School (graduating in 1947), and Pacific Lutheran University. In 1953 he married B. Joann Williams and had 5 sons.

Lelli joined the Tacoma area longshoremen union in September 1956 after spending a few years in the construction industry in various parts of Washington and Alaska. In 1961 he took his first gear locker job at Rothschild Stevedoring, later known at Jones Washington Stevedoring Company, with T. A. "Tiny" Thronson in the Tacoma shop. Lelli was elected president of the ILWU Local 23, a position which he held for 17 inconsecutive years, from 1966-1969, 1971-1975, and 1977-1986. According to one biographical document, he attended his first ILWU Longshore, Shipclerk, and Walking Boss Caucus in 1966. Lelli served on various ILWU committees, including the Coast Negotiating Committee (elected in 1989), and was appointed to the Pacific Coast Safety Committee as a representative of the Washington area. He also served as an ILWU delegate to New Zealand and Australia in 1983.

Lelli's other activities included serving on the Washington State Advisory Council on International Trade and Development from 1983-1985 and serving as an appointed Port of Tacoma commissioner beginning in 1992. He also was a member of the Tacoma Propeller Club and served as president in 1977, the first member from labor to ever hold that office in the national club history.