The records of the San Francisco Maritime Strike document labor unrest in San Francisco from February 16 to October 8, 1934, and events leading to the unrest. Documents in the collection detail the violent clashes between workers and police, a general citywide strike, and a maritime strike that covered the West Coast. After the death of two strike supporters on Bloody Thursday, the Teamsters walked out in support, spreading the strike along the West Coast, and essentially closing the city of San Francisco for four days. The Communist Party and Industrial Workers of the World had both been active in the area for several years, and helped lay the ground work for the strike. The collection consists of newspaper clippings, general correspondence, telegrams, broadsides, statements and leaflets, organ newspapers, booklets and pamphlets, journals, press releases, address lists, and copies of resolutions. Principal parties in these documents include the International Seamen's Union of America (ISUA), the National Longshoremen's Board, the International Longshoremen's Association, the Waterfront Employers Union, and individual ship owners. A majority of the correspondence is written by or addressed to Paul Scharrenburg, an executive member of the ISUA and editor of the Seamen's Journal.
