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The San Francisco longshoremen's strike of 1934 is an example of the tremendous power that unions gained by striking in the 1930s. Beginning on 9 May 1934, the strike by the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) Local 38-79 developed into a citywide general strike and soon closed ports up and down the Pacific Coast. Harry Bridges, a lean, Australian longshoreman with an irascible, intense nature, led the ILA. By the end of May the strike grew into a stoppage involving almost all maritime workers. After much violence and a failed attempt at mediation by the Roosevelt administration, labor sentiment for a general strike reached a peak. On 16 July sixty-three unions voted to walk off in support of the longshoremen. For several days over 130,000 workers in San Francisco engaged in a general strike, closing down much of the city. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins stepped into...
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This section contains 185 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) |
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