Episode Notes

One of the most explosive events of the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters Strike: The Battle of Deputies' Run!

Over the course of two days -- May 21-22 -- the Minneapolis City Market became a battleground of class war. Thousands of strikers, supported by crowds numbering over 10,000, fought with over a thousand policemen and special deputies (the private army of businessmen, professionals, and frat boys).

As striker Jack Maloney said later, "the employers were ready and determined to kill if needed to maintain their control. I was determined to make them prove it and so it was with so many men at that time. They knew what to expect on Monday or the next day and they were ready to ‘go for broke.’ At Bearman’s the pickets had a sample of what to expect. The cops won that battle but on Monday the pickets gave their receipt for Saturday.”

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Sources: Teamster Rebellion by Farrell Dobbs, American City by Charles Rumford Walker, The Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 by Philip Korth, Revolutionary Teamsters by Bryan D. Palmer, and Union Against Unions by William Millikan.

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Episode Notes

And we're back! Apologies for the extended break between episodes 11 and 12. I had a lot on my plate. We should be returning to a regular schedule of episodes from here on out!

In this episode, we wrap up the explosive May strike, covering the negotiations between the truckers union Local 574, the employer-based Citizens Alliance, and Farmer-Labor Governor Floyd B. Olson. This includes desperate pleas from Minneapolis employers to President FDR, Olson's threat of mobilizing the National Guard, and the city's working class holding a fleeting moment of dominant power.

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Episode Notes

In this episode, we cover the events between the May and July strikes. Local 574 had the upper hand in the immediate aftermath, but employers chiseled at the contract due to the intentional ambiguity negotiated by Governor Olson. In the run up to the July strike, leading members of the Communist League arrive in Minneapolis to help the campaign, 574 fends off vitriolic attacks from the Teamsters national president as well as the Citizens' Alliance, and workers and unions organize parades around the slogan, "Make Minneapolis A Union Town."

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Episode Notes

85 years ago today the Minneapolis Police Department, in collusion with city businessowners, shot 67 men who were demanding their union be recognized. The cops killed two men: Henry Ness and John Belor. This is Bloody Friday.

This episode covers the first few days of the third strike, provides a brief recap in case this is the first episode someone listens to, and, of course, reveals the events of Bloody Friday. The next episode will cover the immediate aftermath: reactions, Ness' funeral, and the calling in of the National Guard.

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Episode Notes

In this episode, we discuss the events immediately following Bloody Friday through to Governor Olson's declaration of martial law. We cover the working class' and ruling class' responses to the massacre, the settlement negotiations that soon begin, as well as take some time to analyze why cops would murder strikers in the first place.

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The third Minneapolis truckers' strike of 1934 reached its second climax on August 1st: Governor Olson's raid of Local 574's headquarters and the arrest of several strikeleaders. But even without them, the rank-and-file of Local 574 raised the ante and defied martial law in city streets. Was Olson still a friend of the working class or was he now one of its many enemies?

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