Ferry
Plaza |
On Thursday,
July 5, 1934, San Francisco police shot and killed longshoreman Howard
Sperry and a cook, Nick Bordoise, near Steuart and Mission Streets in what
became known as Bloody Thursday. In May of
that year, City dock workers walked off the job, joining a coast-wide strike
for better hours and higher pay for longshoremen, as well as protection
against cronyism and graft. With ship crewmen and Teamsters joining, the
strike was effective and threatened to further cripple the already depressed
California economy. Businesses attempted to circumvent strikers by moving
cargo from a rented warehouse on King Street to Pier 38 with the protection
of hundreds of SFPD officers on July 3. Fighting between police and strikers
sent 25 to the hospital. Two days later, the fighting continued at Rincon
Hill where the killings took place and more than a hundred were injured.
Following Bloody Thursday, the City was beset by a general strike that
completely halted commerce here for three days. After federal arbitration,
a system was created for fair selection of dock workers. A union dispatcher
and hiring hall were also formed. Also as a result of the strike, longshoreman
Harry Bridges was elevated to prominence as a labor leader. A marker
along the Embarcadero with a timeline of events commemorates the general
strike and Bloody Thursday. The renovated Ferry Plaza is named in honor
of Bridges. |