“We stick together; it’s like a family,” says the International Longshoremen’s Association Local No. 3000 president, Kenneth Crier. The Port of New Orleans is more than just a grand ensemble of massive machines and impressive ingenuity. It is also a place where people like Leon Slan have worked for over 30 years and where a union exists to bring together longshoremen to assure “work and the quality of work,” says Crier. While being in the union has benefited longshoremen over the years, the state of the economy is taking its toll on the union and the amount of work the longshoremen get. They must seek work at the port every day, but many of them are disappointed and try again the next day, often with no success. Crier says this would not have been the case five years ago. Some longshoremen say they believe that while the economic slump affected them  last, when the economy recovers, they will be the last to benefit.