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.

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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.

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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.

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The Freedom Pier ‘Boom Doggle’

Gloucester City’s Freedom Pier was unveiled 15 years ago, on September 17, 2011. Approximately 100 people attended the dedication ceremony, including State Senator Donald Norcross; Assemblymen Gilbert “Whip” Wilson and Angel Fuentes; Sheriff and former Mayor Charles Billingham; Freeholder and former City Councilman Tom Gurick; Councilmen Nick Marchese, Jay Brophy, and Dan Spencer; City Historian Dave Munn; School Board President Louisa Llewellyn; and St. Mary’s Church Deacon Frank Crosson.

For over five decades Cleary’s Notebook News has written about the Gloucester City’s waterfront and the many redevelopment plans that promised transformation but ultimately fell short. The first plan presented to the City Fathers came from a North Jersey developer in 1987. He envisioned Hollywood East being built along the City’s waterfront. Mayor and council would not commit to the proposal until the develolper released his financial documents. The developer refused to provide that information until he was named the project developer.

That was followed by the King Street Corridor plan. In anticipation of that proposal the City purchased the corner bar at King and Cumberland Streets and demolished it. They also demolished the former King Theater. Those in charge announced the space were the bar and the theater were would be used for development plan. But that idea never got any further than the architect drawings.

Since then, a litany of proposistions have been announced with great fanfare, only to stall, collapse, or become entangled in lawsuits and political disputes. Those sketches ended up with all the other plans in the attic of the municipal building.

(See a list of those gradiose plans below)

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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.

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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.

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Despite Holt Lawsuit, Delaware Terminal Starts Construction

William E. Cleary Sr. | Clearys Notebook News

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE (September 18, 2026)–Located at the former Edgemoor industrial site, DCT will handle containers, retail goods and perishable commodities, nearly doubling container capacity across the Delaware River port complex. The terminal will also provide ocean carriers and cargo owners with access to Class I rail services and major highways, including I-495, I-95, I-295, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

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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: