On July 5, 1934, police shot at waterfront workers who were striking for better working conditions killing two and injuring 109. Tens of thousands of San Francisco workers marched in solidarity with the fallen workers, shutting the city down for several days and boosting the union movement for all American workers. On July 5, 2009, workers from Southern California to the Puget Sound marked the 75th anniversary of this important date by mourning the dead and celebrating 75 years of victories for workers.

BLOODY THURSDAY IN THE NEWS

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote:

More than 300 union workers and supporters, many wearing rugged Ben Davis shirts and white newsboy caps, marched slowly down San Francisco's waterfront Sunday morning on the 75th anniversary of Bloody Thursday, a critical moment for the West Coast labor movement.

The workers who came together to strike in 1934 "fought for a better way of life, for all of us," said Malaika Johnson, 39, a fourth-generation longshoreman from Oakland, who inherited her father's job upon his death 10 years ago. "We have to carry these names on with us."

Also marching was 62-year-old Laurie Olsen of Berkeley, who honored her father, Jack Olsen, a warehouseman who participated in the general strike. She teared up as she described her "young and idealistic" father. "It was a moment in time," Olsen said, "when working people got together and said, 'No more.' "

Read the full article at the San Francisco Chronicle.

KCBS said:

The fatal shootings of two workers that day was a turning point for the West Coast labor movement. Michael Villeggiante, a trustee for the Bay Area Longshoremen's Memorial Association, says things have come full circle for labor with the country facing similar economic challenges to what was occurring in 1934.

"It's not the workers in this country that have problems or are doing the wrong thing," He said. "It's the corporations, and maybe some of the CEOs need to take a cut in pay."

Read the article at KCBS or download and listen to the podcast.