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In May 1934, Teamsters Local 574 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, launched a campaign to organize all transportation workers in the city. When employers refused to recognize the union, Local 574 struck the city’s trucking operations.
About 35,000 building trades workers showed their solidarity by striking as well. Although the strike was settled on May 25, employers delayed honoring their commitments, prompting the strike to resume on July 16.
On July 20 – or “Bloody Friday” as it came to be known – police opened fire on the strikers, killing two and wounding 55. The governor declared martial law, and the National Guard occupied the Minneapolis local, arresting some 100 officers and members.
 Because of the ties that had developed between the citizens and the Teamsters, a mass march of 40,000 forced the release of the Teamsters, and the strike was won.
"The impact of it was that the employers were not going to be the masters of the workplace," said Teamster Jack Maloney, a veteran of the strike. "That was really what it was all about."
What happened in Minneapolis during the spring and summer of 1934 transformed the city and played a decisive role in U.S. organized labor history.
The struggle was a turning point for working people: It helped to establish the right to form a union. Congress passed the NLRA in 1935, which marked the start of a new era of fairness and prosperity in American workplaces.
The strike was also a successful turning point for the Teamsters: from a craft union to a national union as over-the-road drivers continued to organize across the Midwest and the nation.
 Update Oct. 2, 2026: Author John Hanson has written a new book about the strike called Fight and Win: Minneapolis Teamsters Strike, 1934. Full story at MPR News
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