I te tau 1937, i puta a Smith hei perehitini tuarua i te hanganga o te National Maritime Union, e whakaatu ana i te piki ake o te kaha o te uniana i waenga i nga kaipuke i muri i te 1933 Scottsboro Boys Case me te 1934 West Coast waterfront strike
(i arahina e te International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union o Harry Bridges, ILWU me te West Coast Marine Cooks and Stewards, MCS), whai muri i te hinganga o te International Seamen's Union (ISU) me te heke o nga Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, "Wobblies") i nga tau 1920. Ko te mea whakamiharo, i puta te ingoa o Smith na te mea i whakawakia ia i roto i te komiti NMU mo te kore tautoko i te patu o te tau 1934, engari i muri mai ka whakakore i te uniana.