Minneapolis marks 1934 Teamsters strike

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police on Bloody Friday, July 20, 1934, still echo 80 years later for the descendants of Henry Ness. Nine members of the Ness family, including grandchildren, great grandchildren and at least one g-g grandchild, fices and celebrate the historic victory of the men and rating the strikes of Minneapolis truckers, including a six-hour Saturday street rally and a family picnic the following day. Responding to an invitation from Teamsters Local 120, the successor to 1934‘s Local 574, the descendants joined the march of hundreds of members of the Teamsters Union on Saturday, July 19, through the Minneapolis Warehouse District to the site of Bloody Friday. That was where strikers Henry Ness and John Belor received fatal wounds from police sota, and the Mayday Community Brass Band, playing crawled under a vehicle to seek protection from the labor favorites such as “Union Maid,” and “Which Side bullets. Ness was shot about one block from the point Are You On?” Inscribed on the side of the Teamster the Minneapolis Truckers’ Strike of 1934,” published ty governor Floyd B Olson, “The rights that labor has es, the conclusion is inescapable that he had been shot by a ranking police officer—they would have been the sion after the presentations was concluded only by only ones to be carrying pistols—and that the intent sters carried an elaborate floral wreath from the truck was to carry out what was in effect an extrajudicial to be placed on the precise location where Henry Ness setting in Minnehaha Park, appropriately began with er played “Amazing Grace.” Even the most hardened hearts were moved by the emotion and solemnity of tral Library for a panel discussion, “A Fresh Look at the eny. Most might not know of their family connection mented by the report of his treating physician. The ated by Peter Rachleff, panelists included Minnesota with this historic struggle, but patient work located historian Mary Wingerd, who wrote the introduction dozens who did, and more than 50 were present at the ward, lodging in the frontal part of his chest, near his tory of the bosses’ nefarious Citizens Alliance; David Thorstad, who became a close associate of Ray Dunne day. No one in the audience could avoid being deeply during his final years; and Canadian labor historian moved with the honoring of these descendants who prone to escape police gunfire. Most probably, he had MINNEAPOLIS—The shots fired by Minneapolis attended events organized this July to honor the sacri­ women of Teamsters Local 574.

At least 50 descendants of the strikers participated in one or more of five events last month commemo­ bullets, and 60 others were wounded, some severely.

The march was led by the iconic Teamster semi-trail­ er truck seen at innumerable labor rallies in Minne­ truck are the words of Minnesota Farmer-Labor Par­ won, labor must fight to protect.”

On arrival at the site of the police shootings, Team­ fell. A moment of silence was called for and a bagpip­ the occasion.

Henry Ness was shot in the back by a police .38 re­ volver while laying prone on his stomach, as docu­ single bullet entered his lower back and traveled up­ heart. He died of severe internal injuries, despite des­ perate efforts to save his life by Dr Herman McCrim­ mon, who had volunteered his aid to the union.

It is a reasonable presumption that Ness was lying where the union’s picket truck had intercepted the po­ lice decoy truck. Given all the attendant circumstanc­ execution.

uled as a part of this year’s commemoration:

dience in a big meeting room at the Minneapolis Cen­ Minneapolis Teamster Strikes After 80 Years.” Moder­ to a new reprinted edition of “American City”; Wil­ liam Millikan, author of “Union Against Unions,” a his­ Bryan Palmer, author of “Revolutionary Teamsters— Among the events that stood out among those sched­ • On Thursday evening, July 17, there was an SRO au­ dants.”

(Above) Teamsters Local 120’s truck joins the July 19 march through the Warehouse District.

earlier this year by Haymarket Press. A lively discus­ the closing of the building.

• The Sunday Family Picnic Gathering, in a lovely a lunch—donated and served by the UFCW. The cen­ terpiece of the program was “Respecting the Descen­ There are no known living 1934 Teamsters strikers. But most of those 6000 strikers left behind some prog­ picnic. Each one was introduced, and some made re­ marks. They were all given a framed design for a me­ morial marker to be placed at the site of Bloody Fri­ were proud of their connection. n