International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 70

History

International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 70, of Oakland, California, was chartered in 1901. In the first decade of the twentieth century, the East Bay lagged behind San Francisco in population (Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda combined had less than 100,000 residents in 1900 while San Francisco boasted three-and-a-half times that) and organized labor activity. Many East Bay laborers commuted to San Francisco each morning or were scattered in small, hard-to-organize industries. Moreover, Oakland lacked San Francisco's tradition of union militancy and its cadre of experienced labor leaders. East Bay unions were typically smaller, less organized, and less likely to strike than their San Francisco counterparts. 1 This was true for Oakland-based Teamsters Local 70 when contrasted with its San Francisco counterpart, Local 85, which was charted in August 1900.

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