90 years after the strike that made Minneapolis a union town

The 90th commemoration of the landmark 1934 truckers strike that made Minneapolis a union city hits high gear in July with a culminating picnic featuring striker descendants and labor activists, the laying of a wreath at the site of a North Loop massacre and a biking tour of key strike sites.
The 1934 strike broke the power of employers who had successfully resisted unionization. Strikers used tight discipline and innovative tactics to force recognition of Teamsters who powered local commerce as truck drivers and associated workers. The strike led to a contract that improved their working conditions. It reverberated down through history when strike leaders went on to organize over-the-road truckers and even indirectly led to the Minneapolis Aquatennial.
“It is important for me as a Teamster to remember and honor the men and women of the 1934 strike,” said Paul Slattery, organizing director for Teamster Local 120, the successor unit of the local that organized the 1934 strike. “They gave their time, talent and even their lives to make Minneapolis a union town.” Slattery is a participant in the Remember 1934 Collective, which organized this year’s commemoration. A full list of events and background on the strike is available at the Remember 1934 Facebook site.
The culminating event of the commemoration will be the picnic on Saturday, July 27 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Wabun picnic area of Minnehaha Park. This event will feature food, speakers, entertainment, children’s games and a display of 1934 memorabilia. Connections will be drawn between past and present labor struggles by speakers involved in present-day organizing and contract fights. Descendants of strikers will attend.
The periodic commemoration of the 1934 strike, which gained national attention for its fierce conflicts between strikers, strikebreakers and law enforcement, is intended to keep the spirit of 1934 alive today, according to Bob Kolstad, a former Teamster and a member of the Remember 1934 Collective. The 90th anniversary commemoration comes at a time of renewed success for the labor movement in organizing workers.
“I hope the commemoration events show people what can be accomplished when they pull together – better working conditions, a higher wage and a fairer shake on the job,” said Linda Leighton, a collective member and the granddaughter of Vincent Dunne, a leader in the 1934 strike.
John J. Hanson (son of 1934 “Strike Committee of 100” member) will speak on the night before the picnic at the East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul. It will include a film screening and a presentation on the historical timeline of the strike. The Friday, July 26 event is scheduled for 6:30-8:30 p.m.
A new addition to the commemoration schedule will offer a bicycle tour of 1934 strike sites. The 90-minute easy-paced tour will begin at 3 p.m. on July 28 at 1900 Chicago Ave. S., the site of a strike headquarters, and end at the site of the plaque in the North Loop. The event is a fundraiser for Socialist Alternative. See the Facebook site for more information.

1934 strikes 101
The events known as the 1934 Minneapolis Teamster strike actually unfolded in a series of three strikes that year involving drivers and eventually allied workers. They occurred against a backdrop of strenuous efforts by the dominant employers’ Citizens Alliance to keep Minneapolis a non-union town.
The strike involved many thousands: members of Teamsters Local 574 plus farmers, secretaries and many others who supported the strike; the business interests and police who opposed the union; and the National Guard and the state and national governments that were compelled to intervene.
In February, the fledgling Local 574 called a midwinter coal delivery strike for union recognition and better working conditions. The winter strike was quickly settled with what turned out to be minor gains. But the job action built confidence among workers and organizers. It also boosted the Local’s membership with workers from other local trucking sectors, including allied workers such as helpers and packers.
The strikers were led by workers from the ranks of the Trotskyist Communist League, whose smart planning and strong disciplined leadership won the confidence of members. Their goal was the unprecedented organizing of an industry-wide union that combined those who drove the trucks, those who loaded them and those who worked in warehouses. They prepared for an inevitable second strike by their radicalized membership, opening a strike headquarters that was ready to feed strikers, work on the vehicles of those who confronted scab drivers and even provide medical care. Local 574 also created a strong women’s auxiliary recruited from among the wives of strikers.
Workers presented their demands on April 30, including a closed shop with all workers belonging to the union, shorter hours, standard pay and union recognition. When employers refused to bargain, workers struck trucking firms on May 16.
A key innovation by strikers was the using of flying picket squads of strikers in vehicles who cruised the city to intercept scab drivers trying to deliver goods, forcing them to dump their loads or turn back. There were violent clashes between strikers and Minneapolis police and special deputies recruited by employers to help break the strike.
Governor Floyd Olson stepped in to force a deal reached on May 25. It included a return to work for all strikers, plus recognition of Local 574 as bargaining agent for drivers and their helpers. But lack of clarity over the inclusion of workers inside warehouses soon undercut the deal. Employers tried to discriminate against union members, and refused to negotiate wages or address the status of inside workers.
The third strike began on July 16, erupting in violence four days later on “Bloody Friday” when police opened fire on unarmed strikers trying to stop deliveries in the warehouse district. Two strikers were killed, prompting tens of thousands to march in mourning, and dozens more were wounded, mostly shot in the back. A plaque marks the site of one of the clashes occurred at 701 N. Third St.
On July 25, two federal mediators issued a proposed settlement that affirmed union recognition, set wage rates and clarified the status of inside workers. Local 574 accepted it but trucking firms refused.
Olson then declared martial law, banned picketing, and initiated a permit system for trucks delivering essential goods. Troops raided both the employers headquarters and that of the Local, arresting strike leaders. By early August, the permit system was tightened so that only firms that agreed to the mediator proposal got permits. That pressure broke resistance from trucking firms and on Aug. 22 the third strike ended.
Minneapolis was now a union town.
Information submitted by the Remember 1934 Collective.