Laborfest: 75th Anniversary of The 1934 San Francisco General Strike

The 1934 San Francisco General Strike: An Educational Conference with Video: Harry Bridges, A Man And His Union
Speakers including: Harvey Schwartz, Ralph Schoenman, Brad Weidemier, Akio Masuda, Cleophus Williams, Gifford Hartman, Clarence Thomas and Jack Heyman.

The 1934 San Francico General Strike and West Coast Maritime Strike was a pivotal point for the working people in San Francisco and the West. This strike which was organized from the bottom up showed that the rank and file have the power to successfully form a union despite the resistance of the bosses, the media, the politicians and the government. The lessons of workers today for this strike are vital when millions of workers are unorganized and facing concession after concession with the economic collapse of our economy.

Also in 1934 were the general strikes of Minneapolis and Toledo. These 3 general strikes made possible the passage of the 1935 National Labor Relations or Wagner Act making it legal to organize and join labor unions; the 1935 Social Security Act and unemployment insurance. It will take ANOTHER GENERAL STRIKE NOW to win socialized medicine, the kind of universal healthcare that exists in the rest of the industrialized world, including Germany where it has existed for 126 years, along with old age pensions and unemployment insurance.

Hosted by ILWU Local 34 & Local 10, Transport Workers Solidarity Committee
See also:
http://www.sfgeneralstrike.org
http://www.laborfest.net/2009schedule.htm