Exploring the strikes of 1934 in Toledo, San Francisco, and Minneapolis showcasing the power of working class self-activity and fighting unionism. Highlights include the revolutionary ethos, challenges faced by the workers, intense confrontations, and the rise of the CIO. Delve into the struggles of auto workers unions, ideological divisions in the strikes, escalating tensions, and the strategic importance of rank-and-file leadership in union movements.
Strikes in 1934 highlighted working class self-activity against passivity of FDR's early administration.
Maritime workers fought against repressive company practices like the blue book for democratic union structure.
San Francisco strike demanded union control over hiring, challenging authoritarian practices and inspiring transformative demands.
Violent clashes and general strike in response to police violence showcased working class power and unity.
Minneapolis truckers' strike escalated into a general strike, securing important concessions and uniting different industries.
Deep dives
Background of Maritime Workers
Longshoremen and sailors faced tough working conditions characterized by segregation, miserable quarters, and dangerous tasks. The shape up practice allowed bosses to hire workers based on arbitrary decisions, leading to kickbacks and lack of job security.
Challenges with Company Unions
Maritime workers were subjected to repression and had to contend with company unions like the blue book that controlled hiring, leading to kickbacks and promoting servile behavior. Rank and file groups like the Albion Hall group pushed back against the blue book, demanding a more democratic and militant union structure.
Strikes and Organizational Shifts
The strike in San Francisco in 1934 saw workers demanding total union control over hiring, pushing back against authoritarian practices. The Albion Hall group and leaders like Harry Bridges organized dock committees, challenging conservative union leadership and fighting for transformative demands.
Violent Clashes and General Strike
Violent clashes erupted during the strike, with scabs recruited by employers leading to bloody confrontations. Despite pressure from employers and the government, the strike persisted. The general strike was called in response to police violence and employers' refusal to meet workers' demands.
The 1934 San Francisco General Strike
The San Francisco Bay Area's strike on July 9th, where 15,000 longshoremen march in silence, showed the working class's power and unity. The business community panicked, while laborers exhibited newfound power and unity, reminiscent of the aftermath of emancipation. Martial law declared in San Francisco marked escalating violence but resulted in the longshoremen gaining control of the hiring hall.
The Minneapolis Truckers' Strike and General Strike
In Minneapolis, truckers led by Trotskyists demanded union recognition, better wages, and representing all workers related to trucking. The strike escalated into a general strike involving the city's entire working class, met with fierce resistance from the bosses and police. Despite struggles and violence, the strike secured important concessions like reinstatement of fired workers and uniform wages.
Legacy and Aftermath of the Strikes
The strikes showcased the working class's ability to make significant gains and unite across different industries. The transformative impact extended to the textile industry with the largest general strike in 1934 involving 400,000 workers. Despite facing challenges and betrayals, the strikes laid the groundwork for future labor movements and highlighted the power of organized labor unity.
Failures of the Textile Workers Union
The textile workers union faced challenges in organizing due to leadership unpreparedness for increased memberships and discontent with speed-ups dictated by the NRA codes. Despite claiming to represent half a million cotton textile workers, the union only organized a fraction of them, leading to a failed attempt at industry-wide industrial union establishment.
Impacts of the Textile Workers Strike
The 1934 textile workers strike failed to achieve lasting changes seen in other industries due to factors like economic geography, lack of associational culture, and a focus on national standards over workers' demands. The defeat of the strike led to decreased unionization in Southern mills and highlighted the failure to address essential issues like control of work and opposition to speed-ups.
Episode five of Fragile Juggernaut is a dramatic retelling of the nearly-revolutionary strikes of 1934, in Toledo and San Francisco, in Minneapolis and across America’s textile belt: moments that dramatize the powerful interaction between radical militant minorities on the shop floor and mass working class struggles. Frustrated by the passivity of “the National Run Around” of FDR’s first years in office, workers took up “self-help” in the form of fighting unionism. Their violently fought strikes would go on to produce a new “social warrant” for working class self-activity in the years to come.
Fragile Juggernaut is a Haymarket Originals podcast exploring the history, politics, and strategic lessons of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the rank and file insurgency that produced it. Support Fragile Juggernaut on Patreon and receive our exclusive bimonthly newsletter, full of additional insights, reading recommendations, and archival materials we’ve amassed along the way.
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