When S.F. waterfront was scene of bloody riots

[Starry Messenger]

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/When-S-F-waterfront-was-scene-of-bloody-riots-5601244.php

No place in San Francisco has changed more than the Embarcadero, which is now mostly a grand promenade. It wasn't always so peaceful. Saturday is the 80th anniversary of a day of riots and deadly violence, a reminder of the bloody history of the city's waterfront.

On July 5, 1934, striking workers and police clashed in a series of riots that swept the waterfront from Rincon Hill to the Ferry Building. Two men were killed by police and more than 100 were injured.

<snip>

The 1934 strike is "a basic part of the history of San Francisco and a seminal event in labor history in general," said Catherine Powell, director of the Labor Archives Project at San Francisco State University.

Labor strife may seem a distant and irrelevant memory to people strolling on the Embarcadero these days, but the events of that summer 80 years ago established union power in the Bay Area, and turned the International Longshore and Warehouse Union into a major player on the Pacific Coast.

<snip>

The Harry Bridges Club in Tacoma made this great tribute photo for the occasion:



For more on the seminal waterfront strike, check out The Big Strike, by Mike Quin. https://archive.org/details/bigstrike00quinrich

If you're ever in San Francisco, you can check out Harry Bridges Plaza and tour the waterfront where there are historical markers that show the history of the labor struggles of the area.

[LooseWilly]

1. kick

[Overseas]

2. K&R.

[awoke_in_2003]

3. The sad thing is...

that if things keep going the way they are, riots will again be part of our future.

[IrishAyes]

4. A relative of mine was there,

a big Irish bruiser who earned a steel plate covering half the top of his noggin from blows received. Knowing him, I'd hate to have seen the other guys! For the rest of his life, that steel plate was just about his proudest possession, next to the 50-yr union pin he left to me for safekeeping. He had one obnoxious brother who wound up as a high level manager at Granny Goose and helped scabs bust unions. My relative knocked him on his keyster for that and might've done worse if the other brothers hadn't stepped in. He knew his brother would try to destroy that pin if he ever got hold of it, so that's why it was given to me. And now it's my proudest possession. Due to its historical importance I'm leaving it to the Harry Bridges Institute; they've expressed interest. Now I'm thinking maybe I should send it on ahead to them for safekeeping. It's in my bank box, but who knows whether my executor will do the right thing?

[Starry Messenger]

5. Also they will love to have the story you tell that goes along with it.

That is incredible. What a great story!

I'd email or call them and ask to talk to them. I do volunteer work for an organization that collects political ephemera, and the history that goes with the object is equally as valuable. They might even have an oral history series or something.

[IrishAyes]

6. Thank you. We've been in touch, but that was years ago.

I don't feel the Grim Reaper creeping up behind me, but there's a time to cling tightly to a treasure and a time to share it. I believe the latter has arrived.

[No Vested Interest]

7. It's a good feeling to have all one's affairs in order,

rather than just the idea in one's head.

[IrishAyes]

8. There was a very good lesson served up in this area not too long ago.

Another bibliophile with a huge collection of rare books which he intended to donate to a museum someday had a big fire and lost every one of them. He was too piggish too long. I know it's hard to turn loose of personal treasures, but the time should come (before it's too late) when the pleasure of sharing outweighs the pain of loss.