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On the Waterfront The theme for On the Waterfront took place in the late 1940’s and 50’s. There was a conflict between John Corridan a priest and Joseph Ryan the head of the ILA (International Longshoreman’s Union). Corridan’s problem was with the labor union because the union dominated the docks and he felt that the conditions which they worked in were dangerous and crude. On the docks there were plenty of workers to fit the job, but the only ones who worked were the ones that worked for the cheapest wages. The workers were treated like slaves and worked in horrible conditions. Corridan had a conflict with the ILA because he knew that the union wasn’t going to reform the waterfront labor practices. Men desperate for work gave the bosses kickbacks. Loan sharks gave high interest loans to desperate longshoremen just looking to make a buck. After some time there was a rivalry between two Catholic sub-cultures. The conflict was between Corridan a Jesuit priest and the Catholic dockworkers that began to accept the fact that poverty and suffering were an inevitable part of life. To encourage people to testify against Ryan and others, Corridan went to get the publics attention. He met with Budd Schulberg a screen