Kristian Williams - Our Enemies in Blue - Police and Power in America

and filled it with tear gas. As the unionists barricaded themselves in the hall, thetelephone rang: "Are you willing to arbitrate now?""5That evening 1,700 National Guard troops were deployed, armored carspatrolled the streets, and the Embarcadero, the street nearest the waterfront, wasenclosed in barbed wire and guarded with machine guns. But the militaryfortifications fell short of their objective: the work remained undone. Twohundred :fifty ships sat idle along the coast Even when a military guard made itpossible for scabs to unload and move cargo, it just sat in the warehouses, whereTeamster truckers refused to touch it 66 As in Lawrence, the state was remindedof the practical limits of its reliance on force.By the end of the day, in addition to Sperry and Bordoise, one other workerhad been killed, and at least 115 hospitalized.67 Thus July 5 came to be termed"Bloody Thursday." Strike leader Harry Bridges called it a "reign of terror." Hesaid: "It was an attack by armed men against unarmed peaceful pickets. It was amassacre of workers by the shipowners through the police."68 The next day, thecorner of Steuart and Mission was covered with flowers. Chalked on the streetwere the words: "'Iwo men killed here, murdered by police."69One week later, 4,000 truck drivers walked out, marking the move toward ageneral strike. 'Ibey were quickly joined by butchers, machinists, welders, laundryworkers, culinary workers, cleaners and dyers, and boilermakers: thirteenunions, representing 32,000 workers, joined the strike.7° The Teamsters picketedthe city's southern limits, guarding the only vehicular route to the city. There theyturned back-and sometimes turned over-non-union trucks. A strike committeeissued permits for hospital supplies, food, and other necessary services, butthe city could not function as usual.71 Signs began appearing in shop windows:"Closed, Out of Supplies," "No Gas, Due to the Strike," "Closed for the duration,"and "Closed till the boys win.''72The next day the authorities declared an emergency. The police began stockpilingweapons, swore in 500 special officers, and created an "anti-radical and crime prevention bureau."73 Eighteen hundred cops and 4,500 National Guard troops were now onstrike duty, reinforced with machine guns, tanks, and artillery.74 Meanwhile, across thebay, 15,(XX) building-trades workers laid down their tools and walked off their jobs. Theywere joined by 'Z1,(J..JJ workers affiliated with the Central Labor Council."'On July 17, the second day of the general strike, the police launched acoordinated attack. That morning a group of uniformed officers and plainclothesdetectives raided the Maritime Workers Industrial Union office, breaking downthe door, destroying office equipment and furniture, smashing windows, seizingrecords, and arresting everyone present, often delivering a beating in theprocess. 'Ibis was the first of a daylong series of similar raids, not only in SanFrancisco, but throughout the state. Police, National Guard troops, and vigilantesattacked radical hangouts, strike kitchens, newspapers offices, and even a school.About 300 people were arrested.?('Shortly thereafter, on July 20, the strike committee voted to end the GeneralStrike, though the longshore and maritime workers continued striking on theirown.'? The announcement was met with another wave of police raids and vigilanteattacks.78 Eleven days later, the last strikers returned to work. The strikehad lasted eighty-two days and involved 30,000 dock workers. Seven were killed,115