Galley-La Company

The Galley-La Company (ガレーラカンパニー Garēra Kanpanī) is a prominent company of shipwrights in the world of One Piece. The company, which has been established for five years, builds ships for citizens and pirates, as well as for the World Government. Water 7, the island the company is on, is said to be the home of the best shipwrights in the world. The company is led by Iceburg, the mayor of Water 7 and the elder apprentice of the legendary shipwright Tom.

First Appearance: Chapter 323; Episode 230

History
Twenty-two years ago, after the execution of the Pirate King, Gold Roger, and the start of the Grand Age of Pirates, sailing was very dangerous. The city of Water 7, named for its seven different shipwright companies, relied heavily on trades with nearby cities for various essentials. As such, the people were scared for their lives. However, days after the execution, the government came to arrest Tom for building the Pirate King's ship. He was to be put to death for this crime. Tom, however, had a plan; he wanted to build a Sea Train, a train that would be able to run on the ocean and connect various nearby cities to one another. With a Sea Train, Water 7 could once again be in contact with other cities. The government allowed him to live so that he could finish his train. If it succeeded, his previous crime would be pardoned.

When Kokoro, Tom's secretary, and Iceburg, the elder of Tom's two apprentices, heard the news, they were very glad for Tom. By doing this, he would not only be allowed to live, but he would also be improving the lives of the people of Water 7. Iceburg and Tom worked hard to build the train, and were later assisted by Cutty Flam, Tom's younger apprentice. The three worked for fourteen years on the train and tracks to various cities, and finally had the Sea Train working well. The government came to pardon Tom for his crimes, but through various happenings, he was instead sentenced to death. He was escorted to Impel Down, the marine prison, in the very Sea Train he had built. Cutty Flam followed the Sea Train, trying to stop it, but was unable to. He was then hit by the train and thought to be dead.

Iceburg, now the only shipwright left of Tom's Workers, decided to continue what Tom had started: changing Water 7 into a city even more prosperous than before. After much work, he managed to not only unite the previous seven companies of Water 7 into one thriving company, but also win the love of the people of Water 7. The new company, with the shipwrights from all the previous companies, was named Galley-La.

Organization
There are seven docks in the Galley-La company. Each has its own set of workers and its own shipyard. Each Dock can be entered through a towering door with its number on it, through which the shipyard can be reached. It is unknown how many employees the company has, but there are hundreds shown at various points, and as the city is a large city populated largely by shipwrights, the number could be very high. Each Dock has five foremen in charge of it. Similar to Baratie (where the chefs specialize in food preparations), the shipwrights of Galley-La are deeply respected for their skills in carpentry as well as fighting

Dock One is typically regarded as the most prestigious by many citizens and workers, and it is also the only Dock that much information is known about, as the others haven't been shown in series. The people of Water 7 seem to idolize the foremen of Dock One, discussing how manly or handsome they are, much like one would expect when talking about celebrities. All the workers are also highly proficient fighters due to the risks of making ships for pirates who at times will threaten the shipwrights or others on the docks.

Galley-La also has a main office, which doubles as Iceburg's home.

Part in the story
The Straw Hat Pirates went to the Galley-La in order to fix their ship, only to be informed by Kaku that it couldn't be fixed even by them and instead recommended that they get a new one. During the night, however, an assassination attempt was made on Iceburg, and when he recovered, he stated that Nico Robin of the Straw Hat crew was the perpetrator. Thus, the Galley-La workers attacked Luffy and Nami, but due to intervention from Franky they escaped. However, the other workers searched throughout the city for the crew, and that night they all guarded Iceburg in his home. Earlier, Robin admitted to the crew that she was the assassin, so the Straw Hats planned to catch her as she made another attempt and demand an explanation.

The building was attacked by several people in masks, who the carpenters assumed were the Straw Hats. Iceburg told Paulie about the plans for the Pluton and the masked people revealed their identities: Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and Blueno, all members of the government agency CP9, along with Nico Robin. As it turns out, it was their intention to fail at the first assassination attempt so the blame would be placed on the Straw Hats, and that this will be the one to finish him off. Despite the efforts of the Straw Hats and Paulie (the other foremen were defeated), they were all badly wounded and the mansion was set on fire. However, Chopper managed to save everyone before he fainted. When Iceburg recovered, he told Nami about the reason Robin was helping CP9. Telling the workers that Lucci, Kaku, and Kalifa were on vacation, Paulie got them to help search for Luffy and Zoro (who were thrown into the city by Lucci) and stop the train heading for Enies Lobby, which CP9 was using. Unfortunately, the train departed before they could arrive.

Thankfully, Kokoro revealed that a prototype Sea Train was built that they could use to chase after them. Boarding the train were the Straw Hat Pirates; the Franky Family; and, representing Galley-La, Paulie, Lulu, and Tilestone. At Enies Lobby, after helping defeat the giants Oimo and Kaashii, the foremen held off incoming soldiers while the Straw Hats and Franky Family continued on. Once Oimo and Kaashii joined their side, they moved onto the Courthouse where they faced Judge Baskerville and other soldiers, with the help of the Franky Family. The Galley-La foremen and Franky Family lost and were tied up, only to be released when it was announced that the Buster Call was going to be used on the island.

The Galley-La foremen, Franky Family, Oimo, and Kaashii have reached the Main Gate only to be attacked by three Buster Call ships there. The Marines have announced that they are all dead, but this turned out to be incorrect as no sooner then Luffy beats Lucci, Paulie's voice is heard over a loudspeaker Den-Den Mushi congratulating Luffy and confirming that he, Galley-La, Franky Family, Oimo and Kaashii were safe as he managed to save them from plunging into the bottomless waterfall under the island with his rope skills. The entire group is now heading away from Enies Lobby onboard Puffing Tom.

Meanwhile, Iceburg and a crew of Galley-La workers were sailing toward the Straw Hats, just in time to see Going Merry fall apart. Iceburg then revealed that he heard Merry's cry for help, and helped repair it.

Trivia

 * TV Tropes classifies all members of Galley-La, CP9, the Marines and Straw Hat crew as "Bunny Ears Lawyers". Oda himself also counts in their definition.