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1934 West Coast waterfront strike...
1934 West Coast waterfront strike...
Item # 725371
July 18, 1934
CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, July 18, 1934
* 1934 West Coast waterfront strike (San Francisco)
* International Longshoremen's Association (ILA)
The front page has a banner headline: "UNIONS MAKE PEACE GESTURE" with subheads. (see images) A few related photos are on the back page.
Complete with all 32 pages, rag edition in very nice condition. A few small binding holes along the spine.
background: On July 17, 1934, San Francisco was gripped by the second day of a massive General Strike that saw over 60,000 workers walk off their jobs in a historic display of labor solidarity. The city was effectively paralyzed: streetcars sat idle, factories were silent, and the movement of goods was restricted to a handful of trucks bearing signs that read "By Permission of the Strike Committee." Following the state-sanctioned violence of "Bloody Thursday" and the subsequent funeral march for slain strikers, the atmosphere was thick with tension as thousands of National Guardsmen patrolled the Embarcadero with fixed bayonets and machine guns to protect the interests of the Industrial Association. While the strikers maintained their lines to demand union-controlled hiring halls and an end to the exploitative "shape-up" system, the day was also marked by a aggressive counter-offensive, as police and vigilante groups conducted coordinated raids on union halls and radical meeting spots. This pivotal Tuesday represented the peak of the confrontation, framing a local maritime dispute as a national struggle over the rights of labor and the perceived threat of a "communist insurrection," ultimately forcing the federal intervention that would revolutionize West Coast labor relations.
Category: The 20th Century
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