What major strike occurred in 1934?
San Francisco’s 1934 General Strike marked the first time a major US port city was completely shut down by a strike–a pivotal episode in the rise of organized labor in the United States.
What was the longshoremen’s strike of 1934 like?
It was a peaceful and effective strike that lasted but a few days. Both sides agreed to arbitration by the president’s NLB and the general strike was suspended. An agreement was reached via arbitration in the Fall of 1934. This strike marked an end to many employer-dictated labor policies.
How many strikers were involved in the SF general strike of 1934 which shut down the entire city?
130,000 workers
On July 16, sixty-three unions of the San Francisco Labor Council commenced a general strike that involved 130,000 workers, shut down the city, and took over basic services, such as the distribution of food.
What happened July 5th 1934?
As rumors flew that the National Guard were arriving in the evening, the workers made a last desperate push to seize the railway only to be repelled by police. On this Bloody Thursday (July 5, 1934) over a hundred people were wounded, and police bullets killed strikers Nicholas Bordoise and Howard Sperry.
How many strikes were there in 1934?
There were four key strikes that took place in 1934: the Toledo Auto-Lite strike, the San Francisco General Strike, the Minneapolis Teamsters strike, and also the textile workers’ strike up and down the East Coast.
What caused the mill strike of 1934?
Wages remained low, the stretch-out was still common, and some mills refused to negotiate with or recognize any union representation. In July 1934 frustrated workers in Alabama became unwilling to wait for the national United Textile Workers (UTW) union to call a strike. They staged a walkout.
How many strikes took place in 1934 why did so many take place?
The year 1934 marked a turning point for the working-class struggle during the Great Depression, with three strikes in three cities–Toledo, San Francisco and Minneapolis–that showed workers could fight back and win.
What happened on Bloody Thursday?
Bloody Thursday (July 5th, 1934) street fighting The members of both longshore and seafaring unions voted to strike in May 1934. In response, the employers mobilized private industry, state and local governments, and police agencies to smash the unions and their picket lines.
What is the most famous strike?
U.S. History’s Biggest Strikes.
How long did textile strike of 1934 last?
twenty-two days
The textile workers’ general strike of 1934 was the largest strike in U.S. labor history at the time, involving as many as half a million textile workers from New England, the Mid-Atlantic states and the U.S. Southern states, lasting twenty-two days.
Why did the textile workers strike?
They felt that they were being treated like machines themselves. When President Roosevelt took office in 1933, the country was struggling with the Great Depression. Textile workers across the United States hoped for an administration that would help put people back to work and protect their jobs from further cuts.
Was the textile workers strike of 1934 successful?
It marked a clear victory for the mill owners. UTW leaders, unwilling to accept defeat, called the strike a success. The strike of 1934 had offered southern textile workers the short-lived hope of organized bargaining with their employers and national recognition for their struggles.
What was the result of the West Coast strike of 1934?
The strike peaked with the death of two workers on “Bloody Thursday” and the San Francisco General Strike which stopped all work in the major port city for four days and led ultimately to the settlement of the West Coast Longshoremen’s Strike. The result of the strike was the unionization of all of the West Coast ports of the United States.
What was the significance of the San Francisco strike of 1934?
The San Francisco General Strike of 1934, along with the Toledo Auto-Lite Strike of 1934 led by the American Workers Party and the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 led by the Communist League of America, were important catalysts for the rise of industrial unionism in the 1930s, much of which was organized through the Congress of Industrial
When did longshoremen on the west coast go on 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.
Who was involved in the West Coast waterfront strike?
The MWIU never made much headway on the West Coast, but it did attract a number of former IWW members and foreign-born militants. Harry Bridges, an Australian-born sailor who became a longshoreman after coming to the United States, was repeatedly accused for his acknowledged Communist party membership.