San Francisco General Strike

SF Labor Council Backs '34 Strike Commemoration Events
Resolution Commemorating the San Francisco General Strike & Maritime Strike

Whereas, 2009 marks the 75th anniversary of the historic West Coast Maritime and General
strike in San Francisco and on July 5, 1934 Nick Bordoise and Howard Sperry were killed and
109 people were wounded as a result of the police attack on strikers and their supporters; and

Whereas, this strike was about the fight of longshore and maritime workers to win union
recognition and to have a union hiring hall instead of the bosses shape-up; and

Whereas, the 1934 general strike united the entire trade union movement, including the people
of San Francisco, and the success of the general strike encouraged hundreds of thousands of
workers in Northern California to build and join unions to better their conditions and lives; and

Whereas, the ILWU and the maritime trades are organizing commemoration events including a
commemoration procession of labor and all working people on July 5, 2009 starting at 113
Steuart Street, where the workers were killed and the strike committee was headquartered;
and

Whereas, there will be an educational conference on July 3, 2009 at the Marine Fireman’s
Hall, an international labor conference at ILWU Local 34 on July 6, 2009 and an exhibition on
the San Francisco General and Maritime Strike at the San Francisco Main Public Library
during the months of July and August; and

Whereas, July 5, 2009 is a day of remembrance for murdered strikers Nick Bordois and
Howard Sperry and the tens of thousands of workers and labor supporters who gave their
blood and sweat for the victory of the unions; and

Whereas, today workers in San Francisco and throughout this country also face attacks on
their right to a union, the right to a job, healthcare, housing and education,

Therefore Be It Resolved that the San Francisco Labor Council endorses these
commemoration events and urges all affiliates to participate, support and publicize among their
memberships these events, including organizing union contingents on July 5, 2009 to mark this
historic occasion for all working people of San Francisco and the United States.

Submitted by Robert Irminger, Inland Boatmen’s Union, and adopted unanimously by the San
Francisco Labor Council on May 11, 2009.

Respectfully,

Tim Paulson
Executive Director
OPEIU3 AFL-CIO 11