In October 1936, Curran called another strike, the 1936 Gulf Coast maritime workers' strike, in part to improve working conditions and in part to embarrass the ISU. The four-month strike idled 50,000 seamen and 300 ships.
In October 1936, Curran organized a maritime workers' strike along the Gulf Coast, primarily driven by demands for better working conditions and secondarily aimed at embarrassing the International Seamen's Union (ISU). The resulting four-month halt crippled 50,000 seafarers and 300 vessels.