THE YEAR 1933
In the year, 1933, the depression that began in 1929 hit
the nation with full impact. West Coast longshoremen, who had long suffered
their own special kind of depression, had only deeper woes. Genuine union
organization became a matter of living or dying and they had only misery to
lose. For one hundred years, American labor unions were crushed as a regular
order of business. But, there was more than a mere stirring among these
longshoremen. Out of this era came an upsurge of union spirit rarely seen in the
history of the labor movement.
Prior to 1934, labor relations on the waterfront were not
those of employer and employee, but of masters and slaves. The men were
basically unorganized and members of the employer controlled blue book union.
Some men worked far beyond their strength in order to support their families;
others were unable to get enough work to support themselves. Longshoremen were
hired on the docks; and the Embarcadero in San Francisco was termed "The
Slave Mart". Men would hang around all day, many times in the rain, and
then received two or three hours work in the late afternoon if they received
anything at all. The speed up system prevailed and after a man deposited a load
he was supposed to run back for the next one. Men literally dropped dead of
heart failure under the strain and others worked themselves to the point of
continuous exhaustion. Safety was non-existent. Loads were limited only by the
capacity of the boards, nets and the boom that lifted them. Accidents of the
most horrible nature were commonplace.
But these were the favored few- men who were chosen first
when jobs were given out and were sometimes required to work up to 30 hours at a
time without sleep. They were the men adversity had transformed into 'yes' men
and the 'me too boss' type of worker. They paid kickbacks to the hiring boss for
the privilege of working themselves to death white the majority were reduced to
casual workers. A longshoreman's weekly average in San Pedro was $10.45. Usually
a day was spent going from dock to dock to collect their pay.
One must understand that these men were largely first or
second-generation immigrants, hard workingmen who were accustomed to the sting
of oppression's whip. But even these iron-willed workers could not continue
under such harsh conditions.
Early in June of 1933, the movement to organize a coast
wide rank and file controlled union was put into motion. Months of negotiations
with the employers and their Marine Services Bureau proved fruitless. Finally on
May 9, 1934, the longshoremen on the West Coast, in unison, struck for
recognition of their union, the rank and file control of hiring, a wage
increase, and a general improvement of conditions. By May 11,1934, 1900-miles of
Pacific Coast line from Canada to Mexico was tied-up.
Almost immediately the striking longshoremen were under
attack. Skirmishes up and down the Coast were almost a daily occurrence. As they
sought in concert to better their conditions, political hands turned against
them. Blacklists, arrests, beatings/and police bullets were common. The ship
owners spread falsehoods and propaganda through the media. But the carefully
coordinated coastwise strike machinery prevented the kind of divisive employer
tactics that had wiped out the longshore locals one by one between 1919 and
1923.
Their game did not work because the rank and file had its
eye on the ball and would not be diverted. The people in the communities
generally supported the strikers and many merchants carried these men and their
families through the 81 -day strike.
On May 15, 1934, the first serious clash occurred. 300
pickets marched down the Wilmington- San Pedro Road and down Neptune to the
Grace Line stockade at Berth 145, where a ship was being unloaded by scabs. They
were met by hundreds of police, armed guards and strikebreakers. It was not long
before the guards fired tear gas into the crowd. As the strikers broke through
the barricade they were met by a hail of gunfire from the combined forces. Seven
longshoremen were shot, 2 mortally. Scores were injured but no police or
strikebreakers were shot.
Shooting and beatings escalated up and down the Coast and
finally culminated with the Bloody Thursday massacre in San Francisco. The Mayor
stated the port would be opened at 8:00 A.M. Thursday, July 5, 1934. As the
picket lines formed at the Embarcadero that morning they were met by nearly 800
policemen hefting riot sticks, sawed-off shot guns and tear gas grenades. At
8:00 A.M. promptly, the police went into action, hurling tear gas into the
crowd. What followed was hand-to-hand combat that left the street littered with
fallen bodies.
The strikers retreated up into the city and back to the
Union Hall on Stuart Street where the hottest battle took place.
Scores were gassed, clubbed and shot.
Two longshoremen were killed and over 100 were hospitalized; A far larger
number were injured but escaped or were carried away by friends since going to
the hospital meant an automatic arrest.
Many innocent by-standers were injured by policemen and in
support of the longshoremen, the citizens of San Francisco staged a three-day
general strike whereas commerce came to a complete halt. This action forced a
settlement through the President's Mediation Board and the majority of the
Union's demands were met;
Today, we honor our Brothers up and down the coast who made
the supreme sacrifice in our behalf! Nicholas Brodoise and Howard Sperry, San
Francisco; Shelvy Daffron, H. Holland and B. Lindberg, Seattle, Washington;
Richard Parker and John Knudson, San Pedro.
They were told they were revolutionist and revolutionists
they were because they dreamed of improvements. Such improvements as equal
opportunity of earnings fair hiring without kickbacks, decent wages and shorter
hours, vacations, holidays, health and dental care, pensions and job security,
to walk like a man with dignity in the community and in front of the boss.
This is not the end. The pursuit of happiness is without
end. The revolutionary dreams of today will be the realities of tomorrow, to be
succeeded by more dreams and more realities. The motion of the I.L.W.U. is
forward!!
(Facts and accounts gathered from the ILWU Library; The Big
Strike by Mike Quinn and The ILWU Story.)
Written by: Charlie Enstedt, Local 13
Submitted by: Harry Bridges Institute
opeiu #537 / Ip