Bloody Friday (Minneapolis, 1934)

Fri Jul 20, 1934

Image: Striking truck drivers battle police in Minneapolis, 1934 [libcom.org]

On this day in 1934, police shot into a crowd of workers participating in the Minneapolis General Strike, killing two and wounding sixty-seven in an event known as "Bloody Friday".

The Minneapolis General Strike of 1934 grew out of a Teamsters strike against most of the trucking companies operating in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The strike began on May 16th in the Market District (now called the Warehouse District), and led to widespread unionizing throughout the city of Minneapolis.

Its worst single day of violence was July 20th, 1934, known as "Bloody Friday". It occurred when police shot at strikers who were blocking off the delivery of company merchandise, killing two people and injuring sixty-seven. Four days later, 100,000 people lined the streets of the funeral procession route for one of the workers and demanded the resignation of the Minneapolis Police Chief.

In response, Governor Olson first ordered that the union headquarters be raided. A few days later, he ordered a raid on the anti-union organization the Citizen Alliance as well. Violence continued periodically throughout the summer before the strike was formally ended on August 22nd, with most of the union demands being met.

• Date: 1934-07-20
• Learn More: libcom.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #GeneralStrikes.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org