Depression Era: 1930s: “Bloody Thursday” & Other Labor Strikes
Click image to zoom in.Or view larger version. Untitled. May 11, 1934. Unknown photographer. Gelatin silver print. Collection of Oakland Museum of California. The Oakland Tribune Collection. Gift of Alameda Newspaper Group.
This photograph shows the San Francisco Embarcadero on May 11, 1934 as a group of longshoremen run from police during a labor union strike. The longshoremen were striking against slashed wages, extended work hours, and the employers’ attempt to stop unionization. Heavy police guards mounted on horseback, on foot and in cars were kept on constant duty on the waterfront to break up potential riots.