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Why does Terry Malloy testify against the union in On the Waterfront?

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Elia Kazan stands on a docked ship set with arms outstretched, directing a scene for Panic in the Streets in New Orleans, with crew members and rigging visible behind him. — Elia Kazan Elia Kazan on the set of *Panic in the Streets*, 1950.

In the 1954 film On the Waterfront, directed by Elia Kazan, the protagonist Terry Malloy decides to testify against the corrupt, mob-controlled union after his brother, Charley, is murdered by the union boss’s henchmen.1

Initially, Terry intends to kill the union boss, Johnny Friendly, in retaliation for his brother's death. However, Father Barry convinces him that the more moral and effective course of action is to testify against the union before the Waterfront Crime Commission. By choosing to testify, Terry seeks justice for the corruption and violence that plagued the docks, including the murders of his friends Joey Doyle and Kayo Dugan.1

The film is widely interpreted as a metaphorical rationalization of the decision made by both Kazan and screenwriter Budd Schulberg to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee by naming individuals with communist sympathies.12