LANDMARK 1934 MINNEAPOLIS TEAMSTER STRIKE

LABOR MARKS THE 1934 STRIKE THAT MADE MINNEAPOLIS A UNION CITY

Picnic planned for July 27, noon to 4 p.m. at Wabun picnic area

Posted Tuesday, July 2, 2024 5:25 pm

Remember 1934 events

May 25: Opening from 7-10 p.m. of Voters in Revolt art exhibit by Brooks Turner at HAIR+NAILS Gallery, 2222-1/2 E. 35th St., Minneapolis. Three bodies of work commemorating the strike. Continues through June 30. https://hairandnailsart.com/

June 3: Opening of 1934 & Now, Connections of the Minneapolis Truckers’ Strike of 1934 eight-artist exhibit at Cargill Gallery, Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401 Continues through July 28. Opening reception June 8 from 3-5 p.m. Exhibit tour June 15 from 2-3 p.m., followed by artist panel discussion 3-5 p.m. Screening of films regarding 1934 and contemporary worker issues on June 23 from 1-4 p.m., Pohlad Theater at the library.

July 20: Wreath laying at 4 p.m. at the corner of N. Third St. and 7th Avenue N., Minneapolis, in commemoration of Bloody Friday.

July 26: Screening of labor films, spoken word and timeline of 1934 at 6:30 at East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul

July 27: 90th Anniversary Picnic from 1-4 p.m. at Wabun picnic area, Minnehaha Regional Park, 4655 46th Ave So, Minneapolis. Speakers, music, exhibits, food and kids games. Program starts at 1 p.m.

Check https://rem34.ampmpls.com/90th/ for updates.

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. 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.

Twin Cities area labor activists and sympathizers will keep alive the spirit of the landmark 1934 Minneapolis Teamster strike over the next two months with a 90^th anniversary commemoration that includes art exhibits and panel discussion, film screenings and a wreath-laying ceremony, and culminates in a July 27 remembrance picnic.

The fierce 1934 strike was among several notable labor actions nationally that year and was credited with making Minneapolis a union town after years of resistance by the employers’ Citizens Alliance.

The events of 1934 are commemorated by descendants of the strikers and others to keep the spirit of 1934 alive in the labor movement, according to Bob Kolstad, a former Teamster and a member of the Remember 1934 Collective.

The capstone event of the commemoration will be a 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 on past and present labor struggles, entertainment and a display of 1934 memorabilia. A program of speakers will start at 1 p.m.

“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.

TWO ART EXHIBITS

The schedule of events opens on May 25 with Voters in Revolt, an art exhibition by Brooks Turner at HAIR+NAILS Gallery, 2222-1/2 E. 35^th St., Minneapolis, which presents three bodies of work commemorating the strike. Four large machine-woven tapestries depict critical moments from the strike through collages of photos placed within imagined floral and forest landscapes. Strike Scenes, a series of pen and ink drawings on handmade paper, offers a more intimate view of the strike. The final work, Path Through the Wilderness, is a video and audio installation exploring the power and potency of labor organizing in Minnesota through the voice of Meridel LeSueur, the noted Minnesota writer of the proletarian literature movement. An opening event runs from 7-10 p.m. on the 25th. and the exhibit continues Thursdays through Sundays from 1-5 p.m. through June 30.

Next up is the multi-artist exhibit 1934 & Now, Connections of the Minneapolis Truckers’ Strike of 1934, which runs from June 3 to July 28 at the Cargill gallery of the Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall. Participating artists include Mike Alewitz, Rachel Breen, Keith Christensen, Olivia Levins Holden, Juxtaposition Arts youth, Carolyn Olson, Mike Rivard, and Brooks Turner. The exhibit will include banners, photographs, installations, paintings and a video presentation. The library is located near the sites of significant events during the strike.

“The exhibit explores the relationship of history to the present as well as workers’ role in social change, said exhibit organizer Keith Christensen. “The artwork will connect a wide range of perspectives that relate to the strike.”

An opening reception was held on Saturday, June 8 from 3-5 p.m. On Saturday, June 15, there was an exhibit tour featuring the artists from 2-3 p.m., followed by a 3-5 p.m. panel discussion with the artists and historian Peter Rachleff.

LABOR FILM SCREENINGS

On Sunday, June 23, a selection of labor-oriented documentaries will be screened at in the library’s Pohlad Hall from 1-4 p.m. The main feature will be Labor’s Turning Point, a 43-minute documentary from 1981 on the 1934 strike that won recognition of the Teamsters as the bargaining representative of truck drivers and associated workers. Also showing will be: Breaking Walls, a 44-minute 2004 award-winning film created byJonathan Ben Efrat about a mural project in the Occupied Territories organized by labor activist-muralist Mike Alewitz and Arab construction workers; Dissent Minnesota, an 8-minute 2024 film by Mike Rivard, a local filmmaker who has documented many protests; and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Despair, a 30-minute 2021 film by Gus Ganley on the Teamster pension fund fight that led to successful legislation.

REMEMBERING A MASSACRE

On Saturday, July 20, a wreath will be laid in the warehouse district to commemorate Bloody Friday, the day when 67 unarmed strikers were gunned down and two died at the hands of police during tumultuous street battles as strikers tried to keep trucks from running their blockade. The event will occur at 4 pm. at N. Third St. and 7^th Av. N., where a plaque marks the site of the clashes.

A separate film screening is planned for Friday, July 26 at 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St., in St. Paul, featuring "Labor’s Turning Point,'' and a brief presentation of the history timeline of the 1934 strike with spoken word performances.

PICNIC CONNECTS PAST AND PRESENT STRUGGLES

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.

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LABOR MARKS THE 1934 STRIKE THAT MADE MINNEAPOLIS A UNION CITY

Picnic planned for July 27, noon to 4 p.m. at Wabun picnic area

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LABOR MARKS THE 1934 STRIKE THAT MADE MINNEAPOLIS A …

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