Historic Photos from the SF Longshore and General Strikes in 1934 - Part 1

It was a very bad strike, because the owners had no idea how poor the dock workers were and the union people had no idea how much it cost to run a dock, and how long it would take to recoup investments.

In 1934 my grandfather was the government arbitrater for the Tacoma/Seattle region. So the dock workers had his family followed by gangsters. My mother was just a child at that time. So he had the gangsters followed by Al Capone's gangsters. It all made quite an impression on my 16 year old mother.

The dock worker Gangsters even threw a bomb through my uncle's window.

Finally my Grandfather was able to mediate a successful conclusion to the strike. As part of the negotiations, he took all of the owner's to the Tacoma club for Lunch every day. One day he took them to the docks instead. They paid the men for the lunch buckets, and on the beautiful china, back at the country club, they opened the lunch buckets. He told the owners "there is your lunch". The owners were horrified. "What are they doing eating fried mush, and sardines? the lunches were terrible" said the owners. My father said that was all they could afford. The owners showed the Union people their books. This is how much it cost to run their docks. And this is how long it took to recoup the investment. And so everyone began to understand the other persons point of view, and they settled the strike.

In 1978 I returned to the city after a stay in California. I had spent some years working in various factory settings. quality control was my thing. I responded to a Q.C. want ad post by a well known co.
Don't call...come on down. 800 people were needed. I got there early. The line was 3 blocks long already. My visage contrasted with all there. I learned this was an annual event. 9 months, layoff, if you fought for unemployment you couldn't come back.
The cut off time of 1pm came. a suit walked up and handed me his card. I had a job the next day. It was like stepping back in time. Safety was only as good as your reflexes. most jobs in my building were punch press operation.
There was a secret union movement. Their hero was a firebrand that was "murdered" it was said. I kept my mind open and my mouth shut. Key people kept their jobs. 90% were let go and rehired. top pay for my job was 1.50 more than starting pay. at my 3 month review I got a nickel!!
Most got 3 cents I was told.

I did what had to be done. the plant was 5 buildings seperated by 12' fencing. starting times were staggered so "contamination" was less likely. My job let me move around my building freely but needed a "guide" elsewhere
I learned each member of the family that owned got $14 million the year I got my nickel. I snuck out. found my way around the rooftops and through the fences. I gathered the signup cards and met the UAW man in the alley. His friend was the man killed.
Late summer I was told we had enough. 3 days later they tried to kill me. (this is a faith builder for later)
I was fired for fighting, denied unemployment, and black listed as a factory worker for years.

The contract was signed, scale wages, benefits, and safety were quickly implemented.

It was worth it.

Christopher Lozinski tells an interesting story about his grandfather helping to arbitrate the '34 strike, yet it's not clear where fact ends and family legend begins. What was his grandfather's name? What evidence is there to support the claim that Al Capone's Chicago mob was involved with the strike? (On which side?) Was there press coverage of the firebombing? The lunch bucket story sounds like a great bit of folklore, interesting whether true or not. But some things are knowable and should be either substantiated or dismissed.