Berlusconi returns to power in Italy; Terry Tyler arrested in Louisiana; Battle of Soyang River in Korean War; British General Strike betrayed.
Charleston Five longshoremen face state repression; Jimmy Carter clinches Democratic presidential nomination; Two of "Trenton Six” convicted in racist frame-up; June Tenth movement in Korea against Japanese rule.#2001 #1976 #1956 #1926 #Longshoremen #ILA #AFL-CIO #Korea #Japan #June10thMovement #JimmyCarter #1976elections
This week in history: June 8-14
Today in Labor History May 26, 1851: Stevedores and longshoreman struck in San Francisco. This was the first documented longshore strike in California. They were demanding six dollars per day, which was a lot in those days. However, the gold rush caused massive inflation and six dollars did not go very far in those days. They also were fighting for a nine-hour work day and one dollar per hour overtime. In the wake of this successful strike, organizers formed the Riggers’ and Stevedores’ Association.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #strike #SanFrancisco #stevedore #longshoremen #inflation #wages
Today in Labor History May 9, 1934: Longshoremen up and down the West Coast of the U.S. began a strike for union recognition. After World War One, West Coast longshore workers were poorly organized or represented by company unions. The IWW had tried to organize them and had some successes, like in San Pedro, and in Portland in 1922, and in Seattle in 1919, but they were ultimately crushed by injunctions, imprisonment, deportation and vigilante violence. While longshoremen lacked a well-organized union, they retained a syndicalist sentiment and militancy. Many Wobblies were still working the docks. On May 9, 1934, longshoremen walked off the job at ports up and down the West Coast, soon to be followed by sailors. Goons shot at strikers in San Pedro. There was also violence in Oakland and San Francisco. Street battles between the cops and strikers continued in San Francisco, heating up on July 3. Things came to a head on Bloody Thursday, July 5, when police, who were helping the Waterfront Employers Association deliver cargo, attacked picketers. Scores were beaten or wounded by gunfire, including bystanders. And when police raided the union mess hall, at the corner of Steuart and Mission, in San Francisco’s Rincon Hill neighborhood, they shot and killed Howard Sperry, a striking sailor, and Nicholas Bordoise, a member of the cooks' union. This attack led to a four-day general strike of over 150,000 workers that effectively shut down commerce in San Francisco, despite police violence and attempts to weaken it by national unions. On July 17, the National Guard blocked Jackson Street with machine gun-mounted trucks and, along with SFPD, assisted vigilante attacks on the headquarters of the Marine Workers' Industrial Union and the ILA soup kitchen at 84 Embarcadero. They also attacked the Workers' School on Haight Street, and the Mission Workers' Neighborhood House at 741 Valencia Street, as well as destroying the Communist Party headquarters.
Overall, nine people were killed during the West Coast Waterfront Strike. Over 1,000 were injured and over 500 were arrested. But it did ultimately lead to the unionization of all the West Coast Ports, from Los Angeles to Seattle. And, along with the Minneapolis and Toledo General Strikes of 1934, helped pave the way for the growth of Industrial Unionism in the U.S.
One of the leaders of San Francisco’s ILWU local at the time of the strike was Harry Bridges, an Australian immigrant and former member of the IWW. The authorities tried to deport him in 1939, but failed because they couldn’t prove he was a member of an organization that advocated the overthrow the U.S. government. So, the government wrote (and passed) the Smith Act, in 1940, specifically to deport Bridges and, generally, to deport other foreign born opposition leaders. And again, they were unsuccessful, going all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that they had failed to prove membership in CPUSA.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #sanfrancisco #generalstrike #longshoremen #union #strike #policebrutality #police #massacre #IWW #harrybridges #bloodythursday #solidarity #prison #communism #scotus #immigration
"Trump Weighing Order To Seize Elections By Declaring Sham National Emergency: Report"
I see no way to fight except full walkout all sectors. Organise the General Strike.
Organise the General Strike.
ORGANIZE
Not just unions, all workers, tools down.
#aflcio #uaw #longshoremen #generalStrike
Big unions, little unions. Unorganized, medical, communications, transportation.
Today in Labor History July 20, 1934: Seattle police fired tear gas and clubbed 2,000 striking longshoremen during the West Coast port strike. Meanwhile, the governor of Oregon called out the National Guard to break the strike on the Portland docks. By the end of the strike, all the West Coast ports had become unionized. 1 worker died in Seattle and another died in Portland. And 2 in San Francisco. The San Francisco deaths led to a General Strike
#workingclass #LaborHistory #seattle #Portland #strike #waterfront #longshoremen #union #policebrutality #policemurder #police #acab
Plaque commemorating the 1934 San Francisco General Strike.
Reads: In memory of Howard Sperry and Nick Bourdoise, who gave their lives on Bloody Thursday July 5, 1934 so that all working people might enjoy a greater measure of dignity and security.
Sperry and Bordoise were fatally shot by San Francisco police at the intersection of Mission and Steuart Streets, when longshoremen and seamen attempted to stop maritime employers from breaking their joint strike. Community outrage at these killings sparked a General Strike by all San Francisco unions.
The maritime strike continued through the middle of summer, concluding with a union victory which brought decent conditions to the shipping industry and set the stage for the rebirth of a strong and democratic labor movement on the west coast.
"An Injury to One is an Injury to All"
#workingclass #LaborHistory #sanfrancisco #GeneralStrike #longshoremen #police #policebrutality #union #strike #policemurder #acab
Today in Labor History July 16, 1934: The San Francisco General Strike began, with 150,000 workers participating. The longshoremen’s strike actually started on May 9 and lasted 83 days, leading ultimately to the unionization of all West Coast ports. The strike grew violent quickly, with company goons and police brutalizing longshoremen and sailors. They hired private security to protect the scabs they brought in to load and unload ships, housing them in moored ships and wall compounds that the strikers attacked. In San Pedro, two workers were killed by private security on May 15. Battles also broke out in Oakland, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. On Bloody Thursday, July 5, in San Francisco, police attacked strikers with tear gas and with clubs while on horseback and later fired into the crowd, killing two and injuring others. A General Strike was called on July 14 and began on July 16, lasting 4 days. Many non-unionized workers joined the strike. Movie theaters and night clubs shut down. Many small businesses shut down & posted signs in solidarity with the strikers.
On July 17, the cops arrested 300 people they accused of being communists, radicals or subversives. The National Guard also blocked both ends of Jackson Street that day with machine gun-mounted trucks to aid vigilante attacks on the Marine Workers Industrial Union headquarters and the ILA soup kitchen. They raided many other union halls and communist organizations. Vigilantes kidnapped and beat a lawyer for the ACLU, as well as 13 radicals from San Jose, CA.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #GeneralStrike #sanfrancisco #longshoremen #waterfront #union #communism #vigilantes #bloodythursday #policebrutality #police #acab
Today in Labor History July 5, 1998: Rebel Longshoreman, writer and Wobbly (IWW) Gilbert Mers (1908-1998) died. Mers wrote the book “Working the Waterfront: The Ups & Downs of a Rebel Longshoreman” in which he exposed the Texas Rangers of the 1930s and 40s as legalized strike-breaking bullies.
#WorkingClass #LaborHistory #longshoremen #IWW #GilbertMers #waterfront #TexasRangers #writer #author @bookstadon
General Strike Now
MikeDunnAuthor
Liam O'Mara IV, PhD
Kevin Russell