NationMaster - Encyclopedia: San Francisco general strike of 1934

The 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike lasted eighty-three days, triggered a strike by sailors and a four-day general strike in San Francisco, and led to the unionization of all of the West Coast ports of the United States. This article is about the city in California. ... See: West Coast of the United States West Coast, New Zealand West Coast, Tasmania This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Contents

1 The background to the strike

2 The Big Strike

3 "Bloody Thursday"

4 The funerals and the general strike

5 The end of the strike

6 The aftermath

7 Further Readings

The background to the strike

Longshoremen on the west coast ports had either been unorganized or represented by company unions since the years immediately after World War I, when the shipping companies and stevedoring firms had imposed the open shop after a series of failed strikes. Longshoremen in San Francisco, then the major port on the coast, were required to go through a hiring hall operated by a company union, known as the "blue book" system for the color of the membership book. Missing image Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... In terms of labor relations, an open shop is a place of employment at which one cannot be required to join a labor union as a condition of hiring or continued employment. ...

The Industrial Workers of the World had attempted to organize longshoremen, sailors and fishermen in the 1920s through their Maritime Workers Union. Their largest strike, in San Pedro, California in 1923, bottled up shipping in that harbor, but was crushed by a combination of injunctions, mass arrests and vigilantism by the American Legion. While the IWW was a spent force after that strike, syndicalist thinking remained popular on the docks. Longshoremen and sailors on the west coast also had contacts with an Australian syndicalist movement that called itself the "One Big Union" formed after the defeat of a general strike there in 1917. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It contends that all workers should be united within a single union as a class and the profit system abolished. ... Sometimes referred to as the Roaring Twenties. Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy Gun. ... San Pedro is a community within Los Angeles, California, annexed in 1909 and a major seaport of the area. ... 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The American Legion is an organization of veterans of the United States armed forces who served in wartime. ... Syndicalism is a political and economic ideology which advocates giving control of both industry and government to labor union federations. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The Communist Party had also been active in the area in the late 1920s, seeking to organize all categories of maritime workers into a single union, the Maritime Workers Industrial Union, as part of the drive during the Third Period to create revolutionary unions. The MWIU never made much headway on the west coast, but it did attract a number of former IWW members and foreign-born militants, such as Harry Bridges, an Australian-born sailor who became a longshoreman after coming to the United States. The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) is one of several Marxist-Leninist groups in the United States. ... Third Period refers to the ultra-left policy adopted by the Comintern, following the end of the New Economic Policy in the Soviet Union in 1928 up to the adoption of the Popular Front policy in 1934. ... Harry Bridges (July 28, 1901 - March 30, 1990) was an influential American labor leader in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), a union of longshore and warehouse workers on the West Coast and in Hawaii and Alaska which he helped form and led for over forty years. ...

Those militants published a newspaper, "The Waterfront Worker", that focused on longshoremen's most pressing demands: more men on each gang, lighter loads and an independent union. While a number of the individuals in this group were Communist Party members, the group as a whole was independent of the party: although it criticized the ISU as weak and the International Longshoremen's Association, which had its base on the East Coast, as corrupt, it did not embrace the MWIU, but called instead for creation of small knots of activists at each port to serve as the first step in a slow, careful movement to unionize the industry. The International Longshoremens Association is a labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, and inland waterways. ... The East Coast (also known as the Eastern Seaboard) is a term referencing the easternmost coastal states in the United States of America. ...

Events soon made the MWIU wholly irrelevant. Just as the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act had led to a spontaneous explosion in union membership among coal miners in 1933, thousands of longshoremen now joined the fledgling ILA locals that reappeared on the west coast. The MWIU faded away as party activists followed the mass of west coast longshoremen into the ILA. The United States National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of June 16, 1933 established codes of fair competition Categories: 1933 in law | United States history stubs ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

These newly emboldened workers first went after the "blue book" union, refusing to pay dues to it and tearing up their membership books. The militants who had published "The Waterfront Worker", now known as the "Albion Hall group" after their usual meeting place, continued organizing dock committees that soon began launching slowdowns and other types of job actions in order to win better working conditions. While the official leadership of the ILA remained in the hands of conservatives sent to the west coast by President Ryan of the ILA, the Albion Hall group started in March, 1934 to press demands for a coastwide contract, a union-run hiring hall and an industrywide waterfront federation. When the conservative ILA leadership negotiated a weak "gentlemen's agreement" with the employers that had been brokered by the mediation board created by the Roosevelt Administration, Bridges led the membership in rejecting it. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ...

The sticking point in the strike was recognition: the union demanded a closed shop, a coastwide contract and a union hiring hall. The employers offered to arbitrate the dispute, but insisted that the union agree to an open shop as a condition of any agreement to arbitrate. The longshoremen rejected the proposal to arbitrate.

The Big Strike

The strike began on May 9, 1934 as longshoremen in every west coast port walked out; sailors joined them several days later. The employers recruited strikebreakers, housing them on moored ships or in walled compounds and bringing them to and from work under police guard. Strikers attacked the stockade housing strikebreakers in San Pedro on May 15; two strikers were shot and killed by the employers' private guards. Similar battles broke out in San Francisco and Oakland, California, Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Teamsters supported the strikers by refusing to handle "hot cargo", goods that had been unloaded by strikebreakers. Strikers also succeeded in slowing down or stopping the movement of goods by rail out of the ports. May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... Aerial view looking west over downtown Oakland, Lake Merritt and the Port of Oakland in the upper left portion of the image. ... Portland is the largest city in Oregon, and county seat of Multnomah County. ... Seattle skyline City nickname: The Emerald City Location of Seattle in Washington State County King Mayor Greg Nickels Area - Land - Water 369. ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), formerly known by the name International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, is one of the largest labor unions in the United States. ...

The Roosevelt Administration tried again to broker a deal to end the strike, but the membership twice rejected the agreements their leadership brought to them. The employers then decided to make a show of force to reopen the port in San Francisco. On Tuesday, July 3, fights broke out along the Embarcadero in San Francisco between police and strikers while a handful of trucks driven by young businessmen made it through the line. July 3rd is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... The Embarcaderos Ferry Building The Embarcadero is the name given the eastern waterfront of San Francisco, California, along San Francisco Bay. ...

"Bloody Thursday"

After a quiet Fourth of July the employers' organization, the Industrial Association, tried to open the port even further on Thursday, July 5. As spectators watched from Rincon Hill, the police shot tear gas canisters into the crowd, then followed with a charge by mounted police. Picketers threw the canisters and rocks back at the police, who charged again, sending the picketers into retreat after a third assault. Each side then broke for lunch. July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ...

Hostilities picked up again that afternoon, when a group of strikers surrounded a police car and attempted to tip it over. The police fired shotguns in the air, then fired their revolvers at the crowd. One of the policemen fired a shotgun into the crowd, killing a striking seaman and a strike sympathizer.

Strikers immediately cordoned off the area where two picketers had been shot, laying flowers and wreaths around it. Police arrived to remove the flowers and drive off the picketers minutes later. Once the police left, the strikers returned, replaced the flowers and stood guard over the spot.

As strikers carried wounded picketers into the ILA union hall police fired on the hall and lobbed tear gas canisters at nearby hotels. At this point someone reportedly called the union hall to ask "Are you willing to arbitrate now?"

The National Guard moved in that evening to patrol the waterfront. The picketers pulled back, unwilling to take on armed soldiers in an uneven fight, and trucks and trains began moving without interference. Bridges asked the San Francisco Labor Council to meet that Saturday, July 7, to authorize a general strike. The Alameda County Central Labor Council in Oakland considered the same action. Teamsters in both San Francisco and Oakland voted to strike, over the objections of their leaders, on Sunday, July 8. July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... Alameda County is a suburban county in Californias San Francisco Bay Area. ... July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 176 days remaining. ...

The funerals and the general strike

The following day, several thousand strikers, families and sympathizers took part in a funeral procession down Market Street, stretching more than a mile and a half, for the two persons killed on "Bloody Thursday". The police were wholly absent from the scene. The march made an enormous impact on San Franciscans, making a general strike, which had formerly been "the visionary dream of a small group of the most radical workers . . . a practical and realizable objective." After dozens of bay area unions voted for a general strike over the next few days, the San Francisco Labor Council voted on July 14 to call a general strike. The Teamsters had already been out for two days by that point. July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ...

San Francisco Mayor Angelo Rossi declared an emergency. Some federal officials, particularly Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, were more skeptical. Roosevelt later recalled that some persons were urging him to steer the U.S.S. Houston, which was carrying him to Hawai'i, "into San Francisco Bay, all flags flying and guns double-shotted, and end the strike." Roosevelt rejected the suggestion. Angelo Joseph Rossi (1878 - 1948) was a U.S. political figure. ... The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the United States Department of Labor. ... Frances Perkins wearing a veil after the death of president Roosevelt Frances Coralie Perkins (April 10, 1882--May 14, 1965) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Governor Linda Lingle Official languages Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd) - Land 16,649 km² - Water 11,672 km² (41. ...

The strike lasted four days. Non-union truck drivers joined the first day; the movie theaters and night clubs closed down. While food deliveries continued with the permission of the strike committee, many small businesses closed, posting signs in support of the strikers. Reports that unions in Portland and Seattle would also begin general strikes picked up currency.

On the second day police began raiding offices of the MWIU and other radical organizations, wrecking their equipment and arresting hundreds of those found on the premises. A police spokesperson suggested that "maybe the Communists staged the raids themselves for publicity".

General Hugh Johnson, then head of the National Recovery Administration, gave a speech urging responsible labor leaders to "run these subversive influences out from its ranks like rats". A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union was kidnapped and beaten, while vigilantes seized thirteen radicals in San Jose, California and turned them over to the sheriff of an adjoining county, who transported them to another county. In Hayward, California in Alameda County someone erected a scaffold in front of the city hall with a noose and a sign stating "Reds beware". In Piedmont, California, an upscale community bordering both Oakland and Berkeley, California, the chief of police prepared for a reported attack by strikers on the homes of wealthy ship-owners. Hugh S. Johnson on the cover of Time Hugh Samuel Johnson (1882 - 1942) was an American soldier and public administrator. ... As part of the New Deal in the United States, the National Recovery Administration developed by Roosevelt and his Administration pushed industries to make codes and rules for fair competition. It gave more rights to workers and employees, and assisted industries as well as poor unemployed people of the early... The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, is a non-governmental organization devoted to defending civil rights and civil liberties in the United States. ... City nickname: Capital of Silicon Valley Location within Santa Clara County, California Country State County United States California Santa Clara Mayor Ron Gonzales Area - Land - Water 178. ... Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California. ... The city of Piedmont highlighted within Alameda County Piedmont is a city located in Alameda County, California. ... Berkeley is a city in the San Francisco Bay Area of northern California, United States. ...

The end of the strike

The calling of a general strike had an unexpected result: it gave the General Strike Committee, whose makeup was far less militant than the longshoremen's strike committee, effective control over the maritime strike itself. When the Labor Council voted to terminate the general strike it also recommended that the unions accept arbitration of all disputed issues. When the National Longshore Board put the employer's proposal to arbitrate to a vote of striking longshoremen, it passed in every port except Everett, Washington. Arbitration, in the law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution — specifically, a legal alternative to litigation whereby the parties to a dispute agree to submit their respective positions (through agreement or hearing) to a neutral third party (the arbitrator(s) or arbiter(s)) for resolution. ... Everett High School Everett Station Everett is a city located in Snohomish County, Washington. ...

That, however, left the striking seamen in the lurch: the employers had refused to arbitrate with the ISU unless it first won elections on the fleets on strike. While Bridges, who had preached solidarity among all maritime workers and scorned arbitration, apologized to the seamen for the longshoremen's vote, the President of the ISU urged them to hold out and to burn their "fink books", the membership records of the company union to which they had been forced to pay dues.

The aftermath

While some of the most powerful in San Francisco considered the strike's denouement to be a victory for the employers, many longshoremen and seamen did not. A number of spontaneous strikes over particular grievances and workplace conditions broke out as these workers returned to their jobs, with longshoremen and teamsters supporting seamen's demands. Employers conceded many of these battles, giving workers even more confidence in demanding that employers lighten unbearably heavy loads. Longshoremen also began dictating other terms, fining members who worked more than the ceiling of 120 hours per month, filing charges against a gang boss for "slandering colored brothers" and forcing employers to fire strikebreakers. Other unions went further: the Marine Firemen proposed to punish any member who bought a Hearst newspaper. William Randolph Hearst (April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper magnate, born in San Francisco, California. ...

The arbitration award issued on October 12, 1934 allowed the ILA to cement that power. While the award put the operation of the hall in the hands of a committee of both union and employer representatives, the union was given the power to select the dispatcher. Since longshoremen were prepared to walk out if an employer refused to accept a worker dispatched from the hall, the ILA soon controlled hiring on the docks, causing the employers to complain that the union wanted to "sovietize" the waterfront. Discharge itself was a mild penalty, since the worker could obtain other employment through the hiring hall. October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ...

The union soon exploited the "quickie strike" to extract many concessions from employers. Similarly, even though an arbitrator held that the 1935 Agreement prohibited sympathy strikes, the union's members nonetheless refused to cross other union's picket lines. Longshoremen also refused to handle hot cargo intended for non-union warehouses that the union was attempting to organize. A sympathy strike is a labour strike that is initiated by workers in one industry and supported by workers in a separate but related industry. ...

The ISU acquired similar authority over hiring, despite the philosophical objection of the union's own officers to hiring halls and a far less generous arbitration award, by the same means. The ISU used this power to drive strikebreakers out of the industry.

The rift between the seamen's and longshoremen's unions only deepened and became more complex in the years to come as Bridges fought with the Sailors Union of the Pacific over labor and political issues. The west coast district of the ILA broke off from the International in 1937 to form the International Longshoremen's Union, later renamed the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union after the union's "march inland" to organize warehouse workers, then renamed the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in recognition of the number of women members. 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a Labor union which primarily represents dock workers, who load ships. ...

The arbitration award also gave longshoremen a raise to ninety-five cents an hour for straight time work, just shy of the dollar an hour it demanded during the strike, and a contract that applied up and down the coast.

The ILWU recognizes "Bloody Thursday" by shutting down all west coast ports every July 5. The ILWU has frequently stopped work for political protests of, among other things, Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, fascist intervention in Spain's civil war, and South Africa's system of apartheid. Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the right-wing authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... History of Spain Series -Timeline -Roman Spain -Visigothic Spain -Moorish Spain -Age of Reconquest -Age of Expansion -Age of Enlightenment -Reaction and Revolution -First Spanish Republic -The Restoration -Second Spanish Republic -Spanish Civil War -The Dictatorship -Modern Spain Topics -Economic History -Military History -Social History The Spanish Civil War (July... Apartheid (International Phonetic Alphabet or in English and in Afrikaans) is the policy and the system of laws implemented and continued by White minority governments in South Africa from 1948 till 1990; and by extension any legally sanctioned system of racial segregation. ...

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