MICRO FICHE 3441
Keywords: Trade-unions, Stevedores, San Francisco, California, Strikes and lockouts.
Abstract
The San Francisco maritime strike, and the General Strike which followed from it in 1934, marked a distinct turning point in the history of maritime labor in San Francisco. It incorporated both traditional features of labor strife which were attributable to the history of labor relations in the city and entirely new aspects which were integral to the milieu of the 1930s.
This dissertation examines the events which led up to the calling of the mass strike from the point of view of the union which was central to the conflict, the International Longshoremen's Association. An introductory chapter describes the foundation of the union in the post-Gold Rush era, and initial struggles in the years up to World War I. Subsequent chapters detail the collapse of the union in the 1920s and its re-birth early in the New Deal. This reawakening of union enthusiasm, part of a wave which swept the country, was vigorously resisted by the employers and the union responded with a strike which began on May 9, 1934. Strikebreakers were hired and violence between union and anti-union forces was widespread. With the help of other unions, the longshoremen succeeded in greatly restricting the movement of cargo. The employers fought back with a police supported campaign culminating in an attempt to "open the port" by force. Numerous injuries, two deaths, and the occupation of the waterfront by the National Guard followed. Sympathy for the strikers engendered widespread labor support and a General Strike brought commerce to a complete halt for three days as 125,000 workers walked off their jobs. Slowly both sides were brought to the bargaining table and in arbitration award the longshoremen achieved most of their strike aims. The General Strike itself brought about a re-birth of union labor in San Francisco and a new era in labor relations in the entire area.
This study is fundamentally an oral history with primary emphasis placed on the testimony of people who were caught up in the events of the strike. Wherever possible, their own words form the text, contrasting points of view from longshoremen employers, police, National Guardsmen and many others who were directly or indirectly involved. The interviews serve to bear out the central thesis that while the longshoremen's strike of 1934 fell into an established pattern of waterfront struggle, the decisive element in bringing about a successful conclusion from the labor point of view was the neutrality or positive assistance of the Federal Government.
October 3, 2007
