Delegates to the AFL-CIO Convention this month elected the Federation's first woman president, and Fred Remond became the first African-American Secretary-Treasurer. The unsung heroes of World War II, the U.S. merchant mariners who delivered the war-fighting gear necessary to defeat fascism, got more official recognition via a Congressional Gold Medal. The ILWU contract with West Coast terminal operators was set to expire without a new contract but neither side expected any immediate action. Meanwhile, Jones Act battles flared as labor took up new defense of the nation's cabotage laws.