When The Longshoremen Said ‘Enough’
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May 9, 2024 | LABOR HISTORY | (Click image to view.) Ninety years ago today, longshoremen led a militant wave of strikes that shut down shippers from West Coast ports from Bellingham, Washington, to San Diego, California. In cities like Seattle, the 1934 strike became more than a labor action — it became a mass movement. The long ’20s had taken its toll; the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) members were few and scattered along the waterfront and it was not at all clear that the Seattle men would prevail. The sailors and the Masters, Mates and Pilots, made the longshoremen’s strike a maritime strike. The maritime workers tied up their vessels when they reached port and joined the strike. On the shore, rank-and-file Teamsters joined the crowds of Seattle strikers, refusing to cross ILA picket lines. Learn more at Jacobin PHOTO/HISTORYLINK.ORG
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