CNB Archives: The 1994 Gloucester Marine Terminal War

Cleary’s Notebook News

ILA, TEAMSTERS & AND HOLT BATTLE FOR THE GLOUCESTER TERMINAL

Gloucester City, NJ (October 11, 2026) – In 1994, the Holt family tried to dramatically lower operating costs at their newly expanded Gloucester Marine Terminal in South Jersey. At the time, Master Contract wages for ILA dockworkers were significantly higher, and the union imposed strict work rules. According to the SocialistWorker.org newspaper, Holt bypassed the ILA entirely and signed a collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 676, a New Jersey-based union that primarily represents truck drivers and warehouse workers, not deep-sea dockworkers. Under this new setup, Holt paid Teamster workers roughly $15 per hour to unload cargo and fruit ships. This wage was roughly half of the total compensation and benefits package the ILA required at the time.

When Thomas Holt Sr. quietly signed a deal with Teamsters Local 676 to unload the Scandinavian Reefer at the Gloucester Marine Terminal, word instantly leaked across the river. To the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), this wasn’t just a lost contract; it was an act of war that threatened to break their decades-long monopoly on the Delaware River ports.

Continue reading →

CNBNews Photo of the Day: A Red -tailed Hawk Visits Us

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ –Earlier today, a Red-tailed Hawk visited us; it landed on our backyard deck. I was able to watch it from inside my house for a few minutes before it flew away.

Some time ago, I was walking Peyton, and as we approached our home, a dove flew low above my head and into our garage. Seconds later, a Red-tailed Hawk appeared and landed on top of my parked van outside the garage.

Peyton and I stood across the street from my house for 15 minutes, watching this deadly scenario unfold. Would the dove be so foolish as to leave the sanctuary of my garage? Or would the hawk fly into the garage to flush its quarry out into the open?

As time passed, my patience wore thin. I let Peyton off her lead, and as soon as she ran up the driveway, the hawk flew away. I peeked inside the garage and found the dove perched on a rafter. When I checked on it an hour later, it was gone.

According to the All About Birds website, most Red-tailed Hawks are rich brown above and pale below, with a streaked belly and, on the underside of the wing, a dark bar between the shoulder and wrist. The tail is usually pale below and cinnamon-red above, though in young birds it is brown and banded. “Dark-morph” birds are entirely chocolate-brown with a warm red tail. “Rufous-morph” birds are reddish-brown on the chest with a dark belly.

The website states that a person is unlikely to see this bird in their backyard unless the yard is quite large. Red-tailed Hawks eat mostly mammals, so they are less likely to visit a popular feeder than a Cooper’s Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk. It is very rare for a Red-tailed Hawk to go after dogs or cats.

The Red-tailed Hawk has a thrilling, raspy scream that sounds exactly like a raptor should sound. At least, that is what Hollywood directors seem to think. Whenever a hawk or eagle appears onscreen, regardless of the species, the shrill cry heard on the soundtrack is almost always that of a Red-tailed Hawk.

Draconids Meteor Shower Active

This week the Draconids meteor shower will be active. Although this shower is not a blockbuster, it can produce up to 10 meteors per hour. The best viewing is in the early evening. With a new moon on Oct. 10, the sky will be very dark, providing good viewing conditions. Generally, you have to stay up late to see a meteor shower, but this one will start just after nightfall around 9 p.m. Look to the north.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

75 words

Continue reading →

The Impact of the Holt Marine Terminals on Camden, Gcity, and Paulsboro Residents

UPDATED

William E. Cleary Sr. |CNBNews

Why has the Gloucester City Housing Office allowed this to happen?–The present head of the department, Bill Gallagher, is being paid $75,000 plus to enforce the city’s property ordinances. Decades ago, the Holt family planted a row of evergreens along the Ellis Street corridor that runs parallel with the marine terminal. Today, branches from those trees have not only engulfed the pedestrian sidewalk but have gotten so large that they have swallowed up parts of Ellis Street narrowing the width of road. Parking is at a premium in that area and those same trees are blocking cars from parking next to the curb. If the trees were placed behind the fence that would not have happened. Another improvement that would make a big difference is a sound deflection walls along Ellis Street similar to the ones you see on state and federal highways.

Constructing engineered acoustic walls directly along the terminal borders helps intercept low-frequency industrial noise. When integrated with vegetative buffers, these structures force airborne dust and diesel exhaust upward, away from ground-level residential areas.

Continue reading →

Gloucester City FD Staffs 2nd Fire Co. at No Cost to Residents

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (October 4, 2026)(CNBNews) — The Gloucester City Fire Department has announced that it will begin staffing a second fire company, a change that allows the department to place a ladder truck in service with dedicated staffing — and to do so without adding to the cost borne by the community.

Continue reading →

Waterfront Wealth vs. Public Health: The Heavy Cost of Holt’s Gloucester City Shipping Hub

Cleary’s Notebook News

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (September 27, 2026)— As industrial logistics hubs expand along the Delaware River waterfront, the critical trade operations of marine container terminals come at a severe cost to adjacent residential neighborhoods. For frontline communities living under the shadow of heavy port infrastructure in South Jersey, the environmental footprint is defined by a continuous influx of air, water, noise, and land pollution.

The Gloucester Marine Terminal (photo courtesy of Holt Logistics)

The intersection of private shipping infrastructure and state operations forms the backbone of this regional economic engine. Headquartered right here at the Gloucester Marine Terminal on King Street, the family-owned Holt Logisticshas been a dominant maritime force since 1926. Today, the company also acts as a primary private operator for major assets owned by the state-run South Jersey Port Corporation (SJPC), including Pier 5 at the Broadway Marine Terminal in Camden and the newer Paulsboro Marine Terminal. While these public-private partnerships handle millions of tons of cargo annually and drive regional logistics growth, their round-the-clock operations concentrate localized environmental hazards directly in residential backyards.

The 1996 Waterfront Lease Controversy

Nowhere is the complex and highly transactional relationship between Gloucester City and its largest corporate tenant clearer than in the history of the 1996 ninety-nine-year lease agreement.

Continue reading →

Sgt Yeager (RET) Top Dog, Enjoying the Good Life

Oct. 3, 2019 | By Katie Lange |

A Marine sits on a wooden bench in gravel, petting a black Labrador retriever whose chin is in the Marine’s lap.

Sgt. Yeager is living his best life – hanging with his family, playing with his human siblings and giving love in return for some snuggles, just like any K-9 combat veteran deserves.

A black dog licks the face of a smiling woman as she squats down to hug the dog. In the background is the U.S. Capitol building.

Sgt. Yeager, a retired Marine Corps explosives detection dog, licks the face of adoptive mom Caroline Zuendel outside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

“He’s a lover,” said Caroline Zuendel, the 13-year-old Labrador retriever’s adoptive mom. “He’s been a source of joy in our lives.”

But the earlier days of Sgt. Yeager’s life weren’t nearly that simple. He’s seen things that most people might never get over.

“We didn’t know his story until we got him,” Zuendel said.

Continue reading →

THE HOLT FILES: PART TWO

1980s Federal UDAG Program: Did It Help Gloucester City?

William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNews

The Urban Development Action Grant program was introduced to Gloucester City residents in 1984. People living near the marine terminal at the time were against the idea from the very start. Several public meetings hosted by the mayor and council were held beginning in 1984. At those meetings, residents spoke about why they were against the expansion of that facility. At the time the Holt Family was just beginning to build their monstrous facility.

Gloucester City News article written by William E. Cleary Sr., published October 10, 1985

That program was promoted in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter. The purpose was to help distressed cities attract private investment, create jobs, and redevelop blighted industrial or commercial areas. UDAGs were awarded competitively and required substantial private‑sector participation. HUD’s regulations describe the program’s core mission as assisting cities facing severe economic distress by stimulating economic activity needed for recovery.

The public’s objections included: