The 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters’ Strikes to the Challenges Facing the Labor Movement Today

This event was recorded. Click here to watch.

Labor’s Turning Point (43 min, 1981) director John de Graff

The 1934 Minneapolis truck drivers’ strike was a pivotal struggle for working people of the mid-west. As a result of new tactics developed in the successful strike, it led to the organization of over the road truckers and the growth of the Teamsters nationally into one of the most important and powerful unions in the United States. The film shows how the strike was organized and how the union broke the back of the anti-union Citizen’s Alliance and made Minneapolis a union town. It also includes the ground breaking role of the strikers’ wives in organizing for the strike and the establishment of a daily strike bulletin. These tactics are still relevant today in the struggle of labor to organize and survive.

A Panel Organized by the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Initial Speakers:
Peter Rachleff, Professor and founder of the East Side Freedom Library
Kieran Knutson, President of CWA 7250
David Van Deusen, President Vermont AFL-CIO